Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,858,141 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 77,713 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.16% of Abbott Laboratories worth $314,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $2,115,836,000. Boston Partners increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,772,670 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $415,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,742,912 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14,037.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $148,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,226,618 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $575,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.60.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.95. 4,455,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,639,875. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $108.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.53. The company has a market cap of $180.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,384 shares of company stock valued at $3,653,916 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.