Quadrature Capital Ltd Has $6.83 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Quadrature Capital Ltd trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 41.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,890 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 43,105 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,265,762,000 after acquiring an additional 585,915 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,103,997,000 after acquiring an additional 508,524 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $771,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $761,996,000 after purchasing an additional 524,683 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,300,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,644,742. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.87%.

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.