Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,507 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 11,475 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.3% of Integrated Investment Consultants LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $14,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,711,586 shares during the period. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,876,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $191,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,144,818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,443,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,199,178. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.93 and a 200-day moving average of $112.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. 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. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.57.

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.