Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $30.34 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,628 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 14,860 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $30,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,115,836,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,360,908 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,346,959,000 after purchasing an additional 207,031 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,930,872 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,093,091,000 after purchasing an additional 236,741 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,384 shares of company stock worth $3,653,916 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.60.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $104.22. 1,373,854 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,607,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $108.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.47.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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.