Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 60,916 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 64.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 60,916 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $1,075,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 665,391 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $73,240,000 after buying an additional 40,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 880,721 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $96,941,000 after buying an additional 15,609 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.27. The stock had a trading volume of 4,320,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,906,677. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

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.