Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,829 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 5,521 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $1,428,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 859,404 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $97,207,000 after buying an additional 370,049 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ABT opened at $133.61 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $130.74 and its 200-day moving average is $125.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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