Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,521 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 3.1% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $32,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.
Abbott Laboratories Price Performance
Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $134.40. 9,513,093 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,643,007. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average price is $132.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.66.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.61%.
Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories
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 stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ABT
About Abbott Laboratories
(
Free Report)
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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