Copeland Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,248 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 181,160 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $20,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 382,513 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $43,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 23,019 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 370,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $42,145,000 after purchasing an additional 15,816 shares during the period. Finally, Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 57,682 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,619 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $116.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $91.64 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.