Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Position Cut by Patron Partners LLC

Patron Partners LLC lessened its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABTFree Report) by 44.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,572 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,090 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in 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 during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in 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 during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,548,228,000 after buying an additional 1,027,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.86. 3,802,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,855,512. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABTGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Abbott Laboratories

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

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