Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 103,199 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,442 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,423 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.23. 3,302,233 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,597,222. The company has a market cap of $179.58 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.01.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.