KBC Group NV Acquires 570,224 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,497,747 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 570,224 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $170,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,976,382,000 after buying an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,103,997,000 after buying an additional 508,524 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $771,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,835 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,683,586 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $761,996,000 after acquiring an additional 524,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $115.89. 1,598,472 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,686,201. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $96.92 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.01 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

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.