Hemenway Trust Co LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 372,188 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 4.0% of Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $49,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ABT opened at $132.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $229.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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 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.