Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,294,472 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 53,144 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Abbott Laboratories worth $485,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,518,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $191,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,170 shares during the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.1% during the third quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $427,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $135,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories Price Performance
Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $133.21. 5,043,771 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,580,481. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $133.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.53. 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 company has a market cap of $231.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.75.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.
Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories
In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
Abbott Laboratories Company 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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