Westover Capital Advisors LLC Buys 3,164 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 121.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,765 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $116.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS 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 business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.