Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 3,352 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,333 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the fourth 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 increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $2,985,233,000 after acquiring an additional 581,325 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $136.33. 5,082,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,095,113. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $131.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.