Short Interest in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Decreases By 19.9%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,620,000 shares, a decrease of 19.9% from the May 31st total of 14,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.91. 8,283,577 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,748,477. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average is $104.79 and its 200 day moving average is $110.12.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $9,530,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,548,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $2,115,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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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