Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,108,777 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 9,013 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $146,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.6% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 568,114 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $75,183,000 after purchasing an additional 40,347 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 2,697,536 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $357,828,000 after purchasing an additional 71,430 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $85,000. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 214,560 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.2% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 937,949 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $124,419,000 after buying an additional 37,975 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $131.38 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $107.11 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.65 and its 200 day moving average is $131.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $228.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.47.

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.