Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 23.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,540 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,655 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 20,494 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 7,980 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 30,158 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,000,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 53.9% in the first quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 21,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 54,329 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,207,000 after acquiring an additional 3,989 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:ABT opened at $133.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.43. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

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.