Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,093,549 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 84,433 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $120,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,164,611,000 after purchasing an additional 32,157 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $576,228,000 after purchasing an additional 20,851 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,575,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $113.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.22.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.