Intech Investment Management LLC Has $2.70 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,662 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,661 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,103,997,000 after buying an additional 508,524 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $771,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,835 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.5% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,683,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $761,996,000 after purchasing an additional 524,683 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,163,580 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $588,700,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,654,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $483,673,000 after purchasing an additional 563,506 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.91. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

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.