Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC Takes $259,000 Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,828,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,091,000 after acquiring an additional 31,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $110.96 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.57.

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.