Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by JGP Wealth Management LLC

JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,423 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.4% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.85 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.02 and its 200-day moving average is $112.65. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

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.