Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,424 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $116.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $202.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently 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.