Capital Research Global Investors Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.3% of Capital Research Global Investors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 3.12% of Abbott Laboratories worth $6,118,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,109,211 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,030,334,000 after purchasing an additional 595,738 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 719,317 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $81,362,000 after acquiring an additional 124,259 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,803 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 58,573 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,625,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generation Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $232,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $129.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,283,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,184,716. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $130.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.20. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $225.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

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.