Sargent Investment Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 767.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,330 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.0% of Sargent Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 357,575 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,156,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 24,598 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 21.7% during the second quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 18,976 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after acquiring an additional 3,389 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 506.9% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,987 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 13,353 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 16.2% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,902 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $204.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.57.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’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 transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted 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. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.