Retirement Planning Group LLC Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 312.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,207 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,766 shares during the quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 8,632 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.0% during the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. FF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the second quarter. FF Advisors LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $212,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $124.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $216.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $110.86 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.68.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.