Norris Perne & French LLP MI Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 226,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.8% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $25,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hixon Zuercher LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 23,068 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 314,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,400,000 after acquiring an additional 134,803 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $722,000. Cairn Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $128.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $223.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.90. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $129.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.