Cooper Financial Group Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,680 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $113.12 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.57.

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.