Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 518,441 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 19,550 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $68,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after buying an additional 581,325 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ABT traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $133.64. 4,852,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,155,060. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $133.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.86. The company has a market capitalization of $232.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.11.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.