Why Abbott Is Poised to Outperform

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, health care giant Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Abbott and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Abbott facts

Headquarters (founded)	Abbott Park, Ill. (1888)
Market Cap	$52.6 billion
Industry	Health care equipment
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$39.4 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Miles White (since 1999) CFO Thomas Freyman (since 2001)
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)	22.3%
Cash/Debt	$11.5 billion / $16.3 billion
Dividend Yield	0.9%
Competitors	Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) Sanofi (NYSE: SNY  )

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 2,658 members who have rated Abbott believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

A couple of months ago, one of those Fools, BuilderJS, succinctly summed up the Costco bull case for our community:

Compelling business model -- limited selection focused on value to the customer. Outstanding leadership and corporate culture that promotes business continuity. Excellent execution -- from the top notch merchandising, to the ability to negotiate with suppliers to the responsible growth plans.

Of course, this short pitch doesn't even come close to telling the entire story for Abbott. You're in luck, though. The Fool's brand new premium report on Abbott tells all sides of the story for one of the most powerful health care companies in the world. You can grab your copy now, which comes with free updates for 12 months, by just clicking here.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.