Boston Research & Management Inc. Has $6.43 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Boston Research & Management Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,925 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.6% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,418,470 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $147,394,000 after acquiring an additional 100,821 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 351,018 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $36,474,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,359 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,648,000 after purchasing an additional 6,859 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the second quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 34,181 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 468,938 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $48,727,000 after buying an additional 2,205 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $113.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $197.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.33.

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.