Vega Investment Solutions Purchases Shares of 302 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,325,000 after buying an additional 15,692 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 4,033 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ABT opened at $131.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.52. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $228.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.