Beaton Management Co. Inc. Sells 400 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,122 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $115.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.53 and a 200-day moving average of $109.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $97.64 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.