State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,877 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 26,918 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $67,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $128.90. 4,849,051 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,199,502. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $223.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The business's fifty day moving average is $130.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.31. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.