Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 97.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,507 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought 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 during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Elequin Securities LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares in the company, valued at $770,759,948.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $100.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $174.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $93.25 and a one year high of $115.83.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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 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.