S&CO Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

S&CO Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,646 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 2.0% of S&CO Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $29,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,103,997,000 after buying an additional 508,524 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $771,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,835 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,683,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $761,996,000 after acquiring an additional 524,683 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,654,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $483,673,000 after purchasing an additional 563,506 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $115.90 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.53 and a 200 day moving average of $109.52. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $97.64 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

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.