Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,881 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.2% of Trust Co. of Vermont’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $23,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% in the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 73,651 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 18,131 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,483 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after acquiring an additional 14,215 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.90 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $91.64 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.47. The company has a market cap of $205.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.