Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,177 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,446 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,000. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 13,119 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $588,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.04. 4,748,058 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,509,540. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.65. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $135.41.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.