Boston Common Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 87.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,643 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 21,262 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 3,880 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.7% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the third quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 14,018 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 12,555 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $120.82 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $113.50 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $210.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $162.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $157.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.42.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.