Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 15,580 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA has reduced its investment in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7%, currently holding 882,570 shares valued at approximately $117 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported $1.26 earnings per share for the last quarter, aligning with analyst expectations, while its revenue increased by 7.4% year-over-year to $11.14 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59, indicating a 1.8% yield and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 882,570 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 15,580 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.05% of Abbott Laboratories worth $117,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,120,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of ABT traded up $2.35 on Friday, reaching $134.41. The stock had a trading volume of 4,985,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.98. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $107.11 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.