Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Sells 2,762 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,554 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,762 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in 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 valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 795,073 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.11.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $133.64. The company had a trading volume of 4,852,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,156,809. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50-day moving average is $133.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.