UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,666,060 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,432,127 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.61% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,206,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 87,165 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $9,859,000 after purchasing an additional 13,952 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 177,705 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $20,100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,997,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 34,899 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 8,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,651,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:ABT opened at $135.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.29. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $235.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.

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