Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,331 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ABT shares. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $133.21 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $133.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.65. The company has a market capitalization of $231.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.