Southland Equity Partners LLC Has $874,000 Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,726 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Insight Folios Inc lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 4.6 %

NYSE ABT opened at $123.17 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $123.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.50.

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.