Moseley Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Moseley Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,946 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,022,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,893,715,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $110.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.04. The company has a market capitalization of $191.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

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.