Candriam S.C.A. Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 359,676 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,167 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $37,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,322 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 111,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.79. The stock has a market cap of $198.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.