Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 31,946 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,402,000. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 70,776 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $744,000. Finally, Fiduciary Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $440,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $134.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $107.11 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $131.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.07. The company has a market cap of $233.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.47.

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.