2,898 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Acquired by Hager Investment Management Services LLC

Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,898 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,518,539,000 after buying an additional 2,711,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $191,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,170 shares during the period. Sessa Capital IM L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.1% in the third quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $427,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,409 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $135,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $129.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $129.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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