Raymond James & Associates Decreases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,151,958 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,951 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.18% of Abbott Laboratories worth $327,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $2,115,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased 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 valued at $9,530,825,000 after buying an additional 7,527,778 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.00. 4,643,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,033,353. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $193.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.00.

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.