Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 357,413 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,807 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 3.3% of Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $40,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $19,075,481,000 after purchasing an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,985,233,000 after buying an additional 581,325 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $2,373,461,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,940,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,463,680,000 after acquiring an additional 330,844 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $124.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.18 and a 200-day moving average of $120.82. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

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.