Bath Savings Trust Co Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bath Savings Trust Co raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.9% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $770,759,948.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.34 on Monday, reaching $101.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,559,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,895,610. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.24. The firm has a market cap of $175.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $93.25 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $9.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.82.

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 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.