Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 237,660 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.2% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $113.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $196.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.87 and a 200-day moving average of $112.95. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.