Northern Financial Advisors Inc Buys 196 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,403 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.75 on Wednesday, hitting $104.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,201,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,514,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $181.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.85. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.