Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Tsfg LLC

Tsfg LLC reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,800 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,261 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 2.8% of Tsfg LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Tsfg LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 525,080 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $69,148,000 after buying an additional 54,986 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 12,556 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 123,531 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $16,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,363 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $735,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5%

ABT stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $134.40. The company had a trading volume of 9,513,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,149,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.66. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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