205,412 Shares in Abbott Laboratories $ABT Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 205,412 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $27,342,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 68,625 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the third quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 21,573 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.0% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 728,652 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $97,596,000 after purchasing an additional 136,352 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,809 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 13,779 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $121.05 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $125.81 and a 200-day moving average of $128.74. The company has a market capitalization of $210.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $113.50 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.42.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.