Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by PrairieView Partners LLC

PrairieView Partners LLC cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,374 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,222,332,000 after buying an additional 701,740 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,548,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $104.17. The stock had a trading volume of 5,025,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,659,196. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.12 and a 200-day moving average of $109.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $181.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 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.