Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 848.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 216,337 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 193,537 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $22,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $112.70 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.