Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $75.35 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 725,135 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 37,601 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $75,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.7% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 3,943 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,521,000. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 5,916 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 190.9% during the 2nd quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,790 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 5,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 231.1% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 92,039 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,505,000 after buying an additional 64,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $116.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $108.14 and a 200-day moving average of $108.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories 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.