Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,647 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $133.21 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $133.28. The company has a market capitalization of $231.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $120.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.