11,777 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Bought by Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 11,777 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,332,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 99,116 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $11,301,000 after purchasing an additional 32,021 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.8% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 443,049 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $50,512,000 after buying an additional 57,049 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 21,756 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 5,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BBR Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 60,043 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,846,000 after acquiring an additional 10,114 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 4.0 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $228.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.71 and a 200 day moving average of $120.24. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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 transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. 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.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

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.