Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $13.62 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 131,092 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 749 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $114.87 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $199.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

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.