Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291,047 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,837 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $32,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14,037.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $148,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,633 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,627,373 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $351,311,000 after acquiring an additional 853,997 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,664,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $354,941,000 after acquiring an additional 801,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,423,715 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $234,737,000 after acquiring an additional 783,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,610,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,562,046. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $183.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.