BCU Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

BCU Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 0.5% of BCU Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,884 shares of company stock worth $5,153,916. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.60.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $104.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,079,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,622,387. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.59 and a 200-day moving average of $109.50. The company has a market capitalization of $181.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share 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.