Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,441 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Forbes J M & Co. LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 135,603 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $15,338,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 4,982 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 80,095 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,919 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,623,000 after buying an additional 31,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $129.11 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $117.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.