Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Boosted by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 40.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,214 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in 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. Sessa Capital IM L.P. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,876,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $191,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $771,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $112.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,783,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,371,816. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $195.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.57.

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.