Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,281 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 9,600 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.1% of Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $22,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Insight Folios Inc grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.45. 6,443,213 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,199,178. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.80. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

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.