Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $30.41 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 276,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 63,162 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $30,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886,954 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,219 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $1,893,715,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $109.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.72 and a 200-day moving average of $107.28. The company has a market cap of $189.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.48%.

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.