Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,816 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 15,387 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $41,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $124.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,935,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,225,356. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. 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 company has a market capitalization of $216.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

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.