Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,876 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,963,974,000 after acquiring an additional 488,764 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,942,709,000 after acquiring an additional 280,441 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,518,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,265,762,000 after purchasing an additional 585,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.86 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $115.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.80. The firm has a market cap of $221.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $129.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’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 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.