Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Sells 1,630 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,689 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,630 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.74. 8,303,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,914,443. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $5,688,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $5,688,000.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,092,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,785.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.