USS Investment Management Ltd Has $41.85 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 369,886 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 13,173 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $41,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5%

ABT stock opened at $135.52 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.46 and its 200-day moving average is $124.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

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.