Telos Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Telos Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,063 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,966 shares during the quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after buying an additional 4,886,954 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after buying an additional 30,218,560 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,893,715,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $3.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.55. 8,510,960 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,628,462. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $183.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.14.

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.