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Empirical Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories logo with Medical background

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 238.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,791 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 33,659 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Insight Folios Inc raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Raymond James reissued a "buy" rating and issued 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 target on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.57.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,443,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,077,783. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $115.00 and its 200-day moving average is $112.66. 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 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders 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 is an increase from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

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