Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,089 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 25,100 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,839,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 53,213 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,019,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $819,000. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 22,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,577,000 after buying an additional 6,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,451 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 3.6 %

ABT opened at $129.51 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. 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 has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $129.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.