PGGM Investments Has $71.32 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 144.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 647,992 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 382,980 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.1% of PGGM Investments’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $71,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.03. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 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.