Ameriflex Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,557 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 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 transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.1%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.31 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $228.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.