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

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,963,974,000 after acquiring an additional 488,764 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,942,709,000 after acquiring an additional 280,441 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,518,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,265,762,000 after purchasing an additional 585,915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $133.21 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $133.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $120.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.65. The firm has a market cap 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. 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%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.