Auxier Asset Management Has $7.89 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Auxier Asset Management lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.2% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,688,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $131.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

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.