North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $34.89 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 308,496 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,176 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.5% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $34,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their target price 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $228.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.62.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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