Dakota Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 157,666 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 55,707 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $17,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third 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 acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.9 %

ABT opened at $116.78 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $114.87 and its 200 day moving average is $112.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $202.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James reaffirmed 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.93.

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.