Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by First Bancorp Inc ME

First Bancorp Inc ME lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,494 shares during the quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after buying an additional 11,508 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 634.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,758 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after buying an additional 25,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $110.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $191.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

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.