Logan Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,420 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,242 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the fourth 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. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories Price Performance
NYSE:ABT traded up $4.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $133.39. The stock had a trading volume of 8,402,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,127,258. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $129.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories
In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Abbott Laboratories Profile
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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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