Conning Inc. Has $34.44 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Conning Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,591 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 64,110 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $34,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $133.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,114,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,158,307. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.16. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.61.

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.