Syntax Research Inc. Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 20,000 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,280,000. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.5% of Syntax Research Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,091,000 after acquiring an additional 31,720 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 110.1% during the 3rd quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 31,148 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 16,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 107,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $12,234,000 after acquiring an additional 25,052 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,644,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,600,751. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

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

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.71.

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.