Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 156,053 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,574 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,222,332,000 after acquiring an additional 701,740 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,764,000. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,858 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,998 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,595,000 after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 894,797 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $98,490,000 after acquiring an additional 8,224 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $118.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $205.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.88 and a 200-day moving average of $108.56. 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 has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following 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 through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.