Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 212,541 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 10,919 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $28,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $144.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $131.79 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $133.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $229.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

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.