Lmcg Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Lmcg Investments LLC cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 148,737 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 12,378 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.3% of Lmcg Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fluent Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 217.1% in the 1st quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 22,217 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 15,210 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 29,070 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,856,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.4% in the first quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $2,103,000. Finally, Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the first quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 19,010 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,522,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.61. The company had a trading volume of 3,866,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,155,649. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $130.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.66. The company has a market cap of $232.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.