State of Michigan Retirement System Purchases 500 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,657 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $54,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,222,332,000 after buying an additional 701,740 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,764,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT remained flat at $103.20 during midday trading on Tuesday. The stock had a trading volume of 3,650,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,681,587. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.