Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 18.0%, owning 13,016 shares worth approximately $1.73 million after selling 2,865 shares in the first quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.26, meeting analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $11.14 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,016 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,865 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $4,075,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 393.4% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,742 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 9,362 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of ABT traded up $2.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $131.66. 6,784,441 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,973,725. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $110.33 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $131.40 and its 200-day moving average is $131.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

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.