Freemont Management S.A. Has $3.14 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Freemont Management S.A. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 137.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,118,903,000 after purchasing an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ABT opened at $125.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.