Gries Financial LLC Has $1.76 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,513 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 51.3% in the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $221.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $129.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

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.