National Bank of Canada FI Trims Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,040,659 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 19,083 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $114,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14,037.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $148,504,000 after buying an additional 1,339,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,627,373 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $351,311,000 after acquiring an additional 853,997 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,664,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $354,941,000 after purchasing an additional 801,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,423,715 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $234,737,000 after buying an additional 783,090 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,610,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.52 and its 200-day moving average is $108.71.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.