Syntax Research Inc. Makes New $2.28 Million Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Syntax Research Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.5% of Syntax Research Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,710,023 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $194,960,000 after acquiring an additional 109,500 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 26,015 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $648,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after buying an additional 1,180,040 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $113.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $196.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $116.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.41. 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 current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.71.

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.