Czech National Bank Acquires 22,312 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 398,377 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 22,312 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $52,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $133.51. 2,830,754 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,142,683. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $130.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $232.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four 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 MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.