Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 596,578 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 50,550 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $67,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,673 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 763,170 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $86,322,000 after purchasing an additional 18,272 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $326,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $2,144,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE ABT traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $127.31. 5,283,007 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,481,777. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.94. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $220.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.