Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 18,740 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 364,515 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 18,740 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $48,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 52,335 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 27,649 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $125.67 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.92 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.