St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC Invests $1.77 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 15,652 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,770,000. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.3% of St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,279 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,753 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,117 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $113.20. 3,006,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,675,267. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $196.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $115.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.67.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

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.