Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 37,975 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.2%, owning a total of 937,949 shares worth approximately $124.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Abbott, with AIA Group Ltd upping its stake by 16.1% during the same period.
• Abbott Laboratories recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937,949 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 37,975 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.05% of Abbott Laboratories worth $124,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.63 on Wednesday, reaching $129.39. 6,723,731 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,025,790. The company has a market capitalization of $225.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $107.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $131.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.15.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio 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.