Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV

Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after purchasing an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $131.31 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $228.46 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.84.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. 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 research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.