Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Boosted by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 13,517 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $264,876,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,667,170 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,180,040 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE ABT traded up $2.75 on Thursday, reaching $113.85. The company had a trading volume of 5,595,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,940,967. 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 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.02 and a 200-day moving average of $112.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories 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.