Norway Savings Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Norway Savings Bank grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,873 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.5% of Norway Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $103.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $180.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.08. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories 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.