PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Acquires Shares of 17,000 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,000 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $1,428,000. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,744,000 after buying an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.68. 14,235,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,157,731. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $232.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.31. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

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, 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 business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

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.