AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 871,196 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 38,676 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Abbott Laboratories worth $90,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,530,825,000 after buying an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after buying an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,548,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,922,170 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,092,133,000 after acquiring an additional 228,039 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $112.70 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $196.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $111.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.39.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

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.