Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,164 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 70,734 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $636,000. Lafayette Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Echo45 Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,976 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,979,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares during the period. Finally, Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp now owns 14,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.91. 3,923,709 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,673,964. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.31.

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.