Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 12,774 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,774 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,445,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.3% of Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 168,417 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $19,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,933 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,367 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,354 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 95,342 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 17,253 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $134.79. 7,128,620 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,120,941. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.88. The company has a market cap of $234.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.59.

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.