Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Lowered by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,809 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,426 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after acquiring an additional 581,325 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.79.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $3.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.35. The stock had a trading volume of 3,702,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,866,490. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.17 and its 200 day moving average is $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.92 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $216.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.