Busey Bank Has $10.41 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Busey Bank trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 91,991 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,068 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 152.0% in the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the second quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 9,408 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $207,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,580,000. Finally, Creekside Partners bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $238,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.4 %

ABT opened at $127.86 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $129.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.71 and its 200 day moving average is $113.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. 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 payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.