Prospector Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Prospector Partners LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.5%, selling 22,850 shares, which now constitutes about 2.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a 7.4% year-over-year increase in revenue, posting $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, aligning with analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59, amounting to an annualized yield of 1.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Prospector Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,909 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 22,850 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.9% of Prospector Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Prospector Partners LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $25,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,527,039,000 after buying an additional 1,177,739 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after buying an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after buying an additional 1,639,954 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $110.33 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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