Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,422 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 6,451 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 795,073 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,985,233,000 after buying an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE ABT traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $133.51. 4,463,942 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,150,902. 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 firm has a market cap of $232.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $130.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.31. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.