Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $8.29 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,517 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,103 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,693 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after buying an additional 4,879 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 963,113 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $108,966,000 after buying an additional 106,199 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,102 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $110.96 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.57.

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.