Wedmont Private Capital Purchases 9,976 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 51.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,190 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 9,976 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 307,903 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $40,843,000 after purchasing an additional 51,511 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,606 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 541,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $71,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,485 shares during the last quarter. GGM Financials LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 36.9% in the 1st quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,335 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.2% during the first quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 8,416 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.88. 2,463,544 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,104,803. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $130.82 and its 200 day moving average is $126.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $234.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

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.