First Interstate Bank Cuts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Interstate Bank lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,761 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $116.43 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $202.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.