Gradient Investments LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 280,294 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,772 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $31,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Curated Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,609 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 14,243 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,936 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 7,726 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $125.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $217.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $125.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.50.

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.