Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Decreases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,802 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 25,977 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $20,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BDF Gestion bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% in the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 73,651 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 18,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,483 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,624,000 after purchasing an additional 14,215 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $2.32 on Friday, hitting $114.22. The company had a trading volume of 5,955,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,724,433. The firm has a market cap of $198.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $91.64 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS 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 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.67.

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.