Swiss National Bank Has $648.90 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5%, now holding approximately 4.89 million shares worth about $648 million.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive views on Abbott Laboratories, with most ratings being "buy" or "strong buy," and a consensus price target of $144.47.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with the payout ratio currently at 29.57%.

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,891,780 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 23,500 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.5% of Swiss National Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Abbott Laboratories worth $648,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,527,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,739 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $134.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,985,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The stock has a market cap of $233.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $107.11 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $131.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued 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 presently 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.