Retirement Planning Group LLC NY Acquires New Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Retirement Planning Group LLC NY purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,249 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded up $1.63 on Tuesday, hitting $132.93. 5,590,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,140,449. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.95 and a 200-day moving average of $124.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $231.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.