Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 27.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.43% of Abbott Laboratories worth $771,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 152,300 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $15,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the second quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 198,237 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $20,599,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $3,194,000. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 2,507,626 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $260,567,000 after purchasing an additional 128,252 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 44,510 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,625,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $116.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.