Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,045 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.33.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $112.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $195.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.22.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.