Kera Capital Partners Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,046 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,046 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $113.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.57.

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.