Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 5,724 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 504,519 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,724 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $57,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 valued at $1,518,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. Sessa Capital IM L.P. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,200,409 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $135,886,000 after buying an additional 1,196,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after buying an additional 1,180,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $137.65 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $238.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $124.05 and a 200-day moving average of $118.28.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,263,348. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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