Williams Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Williams Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,160 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $116.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $202.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% 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.