Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by DSM Capital Partners LLC

DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 75.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 859,404 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 370,049 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.5% of DSM Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. DSM Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $97,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,963,974,000 after purchasing an additional 488,764 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,942,709,000 after purchasing an additional 280,441 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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 valued at $1,518,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,265,762,000 after acquiring an additional 585,915 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.04. 7,117,852 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,596,108. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $120.75 and a 200 day moving average of $116.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $135.41. The company has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.