Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,781 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,642 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after purchasing an additional 32,157 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,930,872 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,093,091,000 after buying an additional 236,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.71.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.