MQS Management LLC Has $705,000 Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,786 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $114.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.61. The stock has a market cap of $199.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

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.