Jacobs & Co. CA Trims Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Jacobs & Co. CA lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,914 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,842 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 29,761 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $582,000. One Wealth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $860,000. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,728,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,408,532. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase 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 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.57.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.