Capital Market Strategies LLC Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Capital Market Strategies LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,909 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 924 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $945,453,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $635,056,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $132.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $231.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.06. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.