Bar Harbor Wealth Management Boosts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,792 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.0% of Bar Harbor Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Bar Harbor Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $15,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $688,000. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 10,195 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 44,659 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,051,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,824,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,461,882. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.54. The stock has a market cap of $196.20 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.