Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Trimmed by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,368,896 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 6,423 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $142,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $114.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.64. The company has a market cap of $198.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.33.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.