Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Position Decreased by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,380 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,222,332,000 after acquiring an additional 701,740 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $16,764,000. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,858 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,998 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,595,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 894,797 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $98,490,000 after acquiring an additional 8,224 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $113.69 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $197.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.60. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.33.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.