Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Hanson & Doremus Investment Management

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 97.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,398 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 12,522 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale 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.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $135.41 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $131.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

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.

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