Perigon Wealth Management LLC Buys 14,193 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,759 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 25,100 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,839,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 53,213 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,019,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $819,000. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 22,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,757 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $129.51 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.46. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $129.76. The firm has a market cap of $224.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.