True North Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 265.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,062 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,115 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.8% of True North Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.43 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. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.04.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11,029,400 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.93.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.