South Dakota Investment Council Sells 2,100 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,338 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 14,037.9% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,339,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,627,373 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $351,311,000 after buying an additional 853,997 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,664,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $354,941,000 after acquiring an additional 801,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 783,090 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $106.89 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week 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 $185.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.96.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lifted their target price 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 raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 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.