Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,095 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 929 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $20,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $2,115,836,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,527,778 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,772,670 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $415,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742,912 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,009,838 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $551,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,671 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.87. 893,398 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,660,485. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.