Taurus Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Taurus Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,220 shares during the period. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,322 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 111,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 7,030 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $116.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.24 and a 200 day moving average of $108.65. 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 twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories 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.