New England Research & Management Inc. Has $2.51 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

New England Research & Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,884 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.3% of New England Research & Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.41 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.50 and its 200-day moving average is $126.37. The stock has a market cap of $235.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.