State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 3,100 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 470,757 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $53,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $140.13 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.59 and its 200 day moving average is $118.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $243.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.