Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15.2%, selling 212,302 shares and maintaining approximately 1.2% of its holdings in the company.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a quarterly revenue of $11.14 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, and has achieved a net margin of 32.43% with a 7.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company recently declared a $0.59 quarterly dividend, providing a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,185,038 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 212,302 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.2% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $157,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in 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 valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 9,761 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 2,531 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $132.09. 4,690,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,877,068. The stock's fifty day moving average is $131.68 and its 200 day moving average is $130.85. The stock has a market cap of $229.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $107.11 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for 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 18.32%. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

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.