Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Cut by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 369,886 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 13,173 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $41,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,873 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $981,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 64,543 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:ABT opened at $135.52 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories 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.