Novem Group Buys New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Novem Group bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,216 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ABT opened at $131.46 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $129.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.

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