By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 173.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,609 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,960 shares during the quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,636,000. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 104,215 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $11,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 132,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,984,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 9,947 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.
Abbott Laboratories Price Performance
NYSE ABT traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $114.12. 1,870,527 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,654,256. The stock has a market cap of $197.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.65. 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 – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.
Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. 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 payout ratio is 66.87%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.57.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Abbott Laboratories
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.
Recommended Stories
Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.