First Financial Corp IN Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,634 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 0.9% of First Financial Corp IN’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $113.12 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $196.20 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.