JGP Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,377 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

JGP Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,046 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 7,377 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.5% of JGP Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $19,075,481,000 after purchasing an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after buying an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $133.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,830,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,142,641. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $130.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.54. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.