California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 120,107 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,796,537 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 120,107 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.22% of Abbott Laboratories worth $429,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 254,544 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,079,490 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $122,101,000 after buying an additional 80,661 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,342,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,893,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $130.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $226.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.05 and its 200-day moving average is $120.37. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.