Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 358,881 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $40,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE ABT traded up $1.12 on Thursday, hitting $104.17. 5,025,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,659,196. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $181.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, 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 value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.