Bellecapital International Ltd. Sells 353 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bellecapital International Ltd. lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,708 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 353 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 22,785 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the first quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,475 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 548 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 4,638 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 73.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

ABT stock opened at $101.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.17. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $93.25 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The company has a market capitalization of $176.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.71 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 20.50%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $5,688,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,759,948.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares in the company, valued at $770,759,948.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $1,092,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $112.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Abbott Laboratories from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.82.

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 Established Pharmaceutical Products segment 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.