BNP Paribas Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 89,352 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $10,157,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,115,836,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 7,527,778 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,772,670 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $415,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742,912 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,009,838 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $551,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,294,784 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,077,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.02. The stock had a trading volume of 6,582,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,183,061. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.95. The stock has a market cap of $180.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.18.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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