Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 596,578 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,550 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $67,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 50.1% during the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 11,768 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $127.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.73. The firm has a market cap of $221.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

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.