Perigon Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,759 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 25,100 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,839,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 53,213 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,019,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $819,000. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 22,780 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 6,757 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $2.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.28. The stock had a trading volume of 11,948,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,317,801. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.50 and a 200 day moving average of $113.64. The company has a market capitalization of $220.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $129.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.06.

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.