CX Institutional Buys 50,529 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 354.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,772 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 50,529 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,325,000 after purchasing an additional 15,692 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,120,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $1.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $136.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,082,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,101,218. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $131.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.25.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's 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 owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.