Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,324 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 12,040 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $25,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,272.5% during the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 30,071 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after buying an additional 27,880 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30,876 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 441.2% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 5,331,760 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $606,008,000 after buying an additional 172,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 27.7% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 21,633 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,017,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,653,512. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $177.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for 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 20.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

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.