Optas LLC Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Optas LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 354,435 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $40,409,000 after buying an additional 22,932 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 5,616 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 7,616 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 70,847 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $128.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $129.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change 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 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.