Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,185,096 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 103,183 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $157,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE ABT opened at $138.13 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $132.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.23. The company has a market capitalization of $240.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.