New England Research & Management Inc. Has $2.33 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

New England Research & Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,579 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,531 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.2% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $2,828,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,091,000 after acquiring an additional 31,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 107,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $12,234,000 after purchasing an additional 25,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ABT. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $129.01. 3,334,572 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,118,184. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.90. 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 has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $129.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.