SPC Financial Inc. Has $2 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SPC Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,503 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,602 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $117.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $204.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.40. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $91.25 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.