Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $15.41 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,313 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 7,552 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $15,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 351,018 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $36,474,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,359 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,648,000 after purchasing an additional 6,859 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 34,181 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 468,938 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $48,727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 173.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 252,646 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,252,000 after purchasing an additional 160,120 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $113.70 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.45. The stock has a market cap of $197.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. 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 shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.33.

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.