Decker Retirement Planning Inc. Buys New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,111 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,275,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.3% of Decker Retirement Planning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $113.76. 4,408,547 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,880,803. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.02 and a 200-day moving average of $112.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

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.