Ballentine Partners LLC Has $4.93 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,538 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,599 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 4,703 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,745 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,325,000 after purchasing an additional 15,692 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $113.45 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.87.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.57.

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.