Clearstead Trust LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Clearstead Trust LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,197 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 767.3% in the second quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 45,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,737,000 after purchasing an additional 40,330 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the second quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 357,575 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 24,598 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Old West Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 21.7% in the second quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 18,976 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after acquiring an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 506.9% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,987 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 13,353 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.1 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $204.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.