Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,968 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 23,842 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 351,598 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $39,771,000 after purchasing an additional 96,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $866,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $131.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $107.11 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.