Norway Savings Bank Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Norway Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,532 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 975 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.8% of Norway Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $112.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,759,948.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $1,092,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,785.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,759,948.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,303,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,914,443. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $93.25 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The stock has a market cap of $176.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.21.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 20.50%. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 Established Pharmaceutical Products segment 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.