CWA Asset Management Group LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,970 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $113.35 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.44 and a 200 day moving average of $112.37. 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 $196.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 71.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.57.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.