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

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,197 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 423 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $117.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $109.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.57. 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 for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

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.