Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,523 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $137.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $132.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.30. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $239.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.