Ledyard National Bank Has $2.41 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ledyard National Bank increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,871 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,278 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ABT traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $107.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,306,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,632,260. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $186.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.34.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories 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.