Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 37.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82,952 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 49,574 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $2,115,836,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the fourth 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. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,009,838 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $551,434,000 after buying an additional 1,477,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,457,847 shares during the last quarter. 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 business’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 approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.99 on Wednesday, hitting $104.71. The stock had a trading volume of 13,437,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,704,455. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $103.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.59. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $182.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped 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 note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

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.