Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,820 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 448 shares during the period. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $127.90 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $129.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.32. 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 $221.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.