Toth Financial Advisory Corp Has $11.73 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 103,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,814 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.4% of Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 58,124 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,574,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 178,939 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $20,240,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, apricus wealth LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $125.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $125.67. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.31.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 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 given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. 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 (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

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.