Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,226,618 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,040,046 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.30% of Abbott Laboratories worth $575,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 634.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,758 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 25,707 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $28,344,000 after buying an additional 11,508 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 36,787 shares of company stock valued at $4,098,073. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.74. The company had a trading volume of 7,349,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,429,147. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $111.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.86.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (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 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 68.54%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.

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