Ameriflex Group Inc. Invests $515,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,557 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,366,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,109,759. The firm's 50 day moving average is $130.30 and its 200 day moving average is $125.06. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 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 business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

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.