Salvus Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,183 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE ABT opened at $132.99 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $130.69 and its 200 day moving average is $125.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.