California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,014,679 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 453,420 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.29% of Abbott Laboratories worth $485,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Insight Inv LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC now owns 560 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 148.4% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 477 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 570 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 72.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.63.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 15.88%. The business had revenue of $10.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 12th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP John F. Ginascol sold 11,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.32, for a total value of $1,235,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,912 shares in the company, valued at $12,569,955.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Nutritional Products, Diagnostic Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.

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