Signal Advisors Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 26.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,693 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 953 shares during the quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.3% in the first quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Foster Group Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 7,179 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 528,489 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $70,104,000 after purchasing an additional 28,176 shares during the period. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $592,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $133.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

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.