Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,500 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $116.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $113.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.15.

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.