Farmers Trust Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,781 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.33.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $112.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $195.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.22. 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 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.