Welch Group LLC Has $9.23 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Welch Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,553 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,428,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $328,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $133.68. The stock had a trading volume of 14,235,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,157,731. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $130.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.