First Financial Bank Trust Division Has $12.90 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,017 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,833 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.2% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 31,184 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 132,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,766,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% during the second quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 3,495 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $113.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,157,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,594,505. 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 twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.07. The firm has a market cap of $196.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. 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 MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.