Farther Finance Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 45.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,265 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $945,453,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $676,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $133.41 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.77 and its 200 day moving average is $126.01. The company has a market cap of $232.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories 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.