Persium Advisors LLC Makes New $688,000 Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Persium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 6,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $688,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.7% of Persium Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 19,922 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,070,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 118,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,347,000 after buying an additional 4,166 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 23,702 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,463,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the period. Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $442,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,961,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.67 on Monday, hitting $112.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,402,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,449,009. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.54. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $195.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 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 (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.57.

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.