Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,922 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 701,740 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,764,000. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,858 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,998 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,595,000 after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $116.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $202.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their target price 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 lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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 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.