Conning Inc. Sells 7,832 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Conning Inc. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 323,701 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 7,832 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $36,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insight Folios Inc grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

ABT opened at $129.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $132.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.25 and its 200 day moving average is $114.93.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued 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 1.83%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.