Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,635,521 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 51,688 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $186,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,103,997,000 after purchasing an additional 508,524 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $771,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,352,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $721,984,000 after purchasing an additional 452,308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.37. The stock had a trading volume of 403,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,685,763. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $197.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $92.43 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.