Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,324 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 12,040 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $25,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $2,115,836,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of 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 worth $9,530,825,000 after buying an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,772,670 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $415,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742,912 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,009,838 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $551,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,671 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during 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 in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.30. 2,017,846 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,653,512. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.05. The company has a market cap of $177.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

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.