Capital International Investors Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.4% of Capital International Investors' portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Capital International Investors owned approximately 3.92% of Abbott Laboratories worth $7,688,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $635,056,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,018,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,020,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,329 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,480.2% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,551,626 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $169,488,000 after buying an additional 1,453,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,196,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $3.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.73. The stock had a trading volume of 4,524,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,025,417. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. 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 market cap of $223.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.15.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.