Camden National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Camden National Bank decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $2,348,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,030,000. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,015 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,042,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.