Tredje AP fonden Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Tredje AP fonden increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730,664 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $75,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 172,569 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,932,000 after acquiring an additional 38,878 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,487 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.4% in the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 508,812 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $52,871,000 after buying an additional 43,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the second quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 56,553 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,876,000 after buying an additional 4,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $118.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s 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 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 at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut 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, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

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.