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In addition to following professional banks, anyone can use Motley Fool CAPS to monitor the collective opinions of more than 135,000 members, many of whom demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts do.

More top-performing CAPS members are feeling bullish about Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) lately -- enough, in fact, to bring the company to a five-star rating after sitting at a four-star rank for months. A total of 1,429 members have given their opinion on Abbott Laboratories, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Abbott has a diverse portfolio of drugs and products, and many CAPS members see its dividend as a safe bet, thanks to its conservative payout. While some longtime dividend payers like General Electric (NYSE:GE) were forced to slash dividends earlier this year, Abbott has paid a consecutive quarterly dividend since 1924, and has increased it for the past 37 consecutive years.

The company also sees many solid opportunities ahead, including a new drug combining its TriLipix with AstraZeneca's (NYSE:AZN) Crestor. TriLipix is already approved for use with statins such as Crestor, Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) Lipitor, or generic versions of Merck's (NYSE:MRK) Zocor, but the companies are seeking FDA approval for a combo cholesterol pill that would be more convenient for patients.

On the legal front, Abbott recently won one federal appeals decision concerning its HIV medicine Norvir. If the company has its way on another appeal, it'll also reduce or eliminate the $1.67 billion in damages a jury recently granted to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). In less positive news, last month a jury ruled that Abbott's best-selling drug Humira infringed Johnson & Johnson's patents, which are at the core of its drug Remicade. Both also compete with Wyeth's and Amgen's (NASDAQ:AMGN) Enbrel. However, the ruling doesn't affect Abbott's current guidance, and J&J doesn't appear to be blocking further sales of Humira, which Abbott says could reach $5.4 billion this year.

To see what the very best CAPS analysts are saying now about Abbott Laboratories -- and to discover the other winning stocks they are picking -- head on over to CAPS and have a look.

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