Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 17.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,541 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,415 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Cim LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $136.33 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $131.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $237.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.