Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,164 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 848.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 216,337 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,480,000 after buying an additional 193,537 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,131 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 136,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,138,000 after purchasing an additional 8,451 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 77.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,383,425 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $143,752,000 after purchasing an additional 605,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 871,196 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $90,421,000 after purchasing an additional 38,676 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $117.76 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $114.91 and its 200 day moving average is $113.08. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.93.

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.