Blue Fin Capital Inc. Sells 534 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Blue Fin Capital Inc. decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,844 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 19,179 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 845,200 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $81,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 23.9% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,114 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.51. The stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’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 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.