North Star Asset Management Inc. Buys 6,193 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,990 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,193 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.5% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $31,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $113.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.