Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,702 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.3% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,196,788 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,151,497,000 after purchasing an additional 598,164 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 40.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,820,152 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,108,249,000 after buying an additional 6,003,997 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,893,715,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Barclays upped 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. StockNews.com started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.82.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $101.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.25 and a 52 week high of $115.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $106.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.21.

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

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 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.