Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc., an institutional investor, has reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The investment firm sold 1,051 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, leaving it with 94,573 shares valued at $10,310,000 at the end of the quarter.
This reduction in holdings by Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. is part of a larger trend seen among other institutional investors and hedge funds. Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings in Abbott Laboratories, including Fairfield Bush & Co., United Bank, Mackenzie Financial Corp, Kinneret Advisory LLC, and Lumature Wealth Partners LLC. In total, 73.70% of the company’s stock is now owned by institutional investors.
Abbott Laboratories has also seen recent insider buying and selling activity. Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $113.76, totaling $5,688,000. Following the sale, Starks now owns 6,775,316 shares, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. Another insider, EVP Andrea F. Wainer, sold 10,400 shares at an average price of $105.03, totaling $1,092,312. After the transaction, Wainer now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. Company insiders now own 1.10% of Abbott Laboratories’ stock.
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on Abbott Laboratories, with five giving it a hold rating and eleven giving it a buy rating. Mizuho lifted its target price on the stock from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave it a “neutral” rating. StockNews.com initiated coverage of the stock with a “buy” rating. Wolfe Research upgraded the stock from “underperform” to “peer perform”. Barclays lifted its price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave it an “overweight” rating. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $112.00 price target.
Abbott Laboratories’ stock closed trading on Friday at $101.74, down 0.9%. The company has a market cap of $176.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.50% and a net margin of 12.83%. During the second quarter, the company reported $1.08 earnings per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03, and had revenue of $9.98 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $9.71 billion.