Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Has $213,000 Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,885 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Insight Folios Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $128.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $222.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. 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 simple moving average is $117.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.83. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.