JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Has $253.95 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,262,391 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 114,939 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.5% of JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $253,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $133.50 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.