Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 541,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,485 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.8% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $71,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. GGM Financials LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 36.9% in the first quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,335 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 8,416 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 3,529 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,810 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,893,000 after buying an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 11,270 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,495,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, 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 is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.61. 3,866,397 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,140,932. 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 cap of $232.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.77. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.