Willis Investment Counsel Makes New $14.55 Million Investment in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Willis Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 106,966 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $14,548,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,172,985 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 17,167 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 109.9% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 56,336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,662,000 after buying an additional 29,492 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,564,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 5,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $209,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $124.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $215.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $110.86 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.78%. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

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.