Ethic Inc. Has $16.58 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ethic Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,661 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,067 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.5% of Ethic Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,111,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,932,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $1.70 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.79. 1,782,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,654,835. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.11. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $184.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% 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.