Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock Position Raised by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,411,819 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,759 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $187,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 232 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Curio Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,250.0% during the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 307 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of ABT opened at $121.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $211.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $113.39 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.91.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $157.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, December 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.42.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.