Romano Brothers AND Company Decreases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Romano Brothers AND Company lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,677 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 1.1% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,475,747,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $16,271,874,000. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $244,037,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 134.5% in the first quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 258 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,785.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.38. 1,566,854 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,888,547. The company has a market cap of $174.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 4.54 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 EPS 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.