Drexel Morgan & Co. Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Drexel Morgan & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,181 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 0.8% of Drexel Morgan & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Drexel Morgan & Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.33.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $114.15 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.64. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $198.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.