Menlo Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Menlo Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,492 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 4.0% of Menlo Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Menlo Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,987 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 13,353 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,902 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 58,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,070,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,927 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 176,580 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,348,000 after purchasing an additional 32,504 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. 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 target for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $204.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 on 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.