Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 5,517 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 118,708 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,517 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,876,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $249,508,000 after buying an additional 1,996,320 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $191,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% in the second 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. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $115.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $201.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $115.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued 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 is currently 66.87%.

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.

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