Sessa Capital IM L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sessa Capital IM L.P. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 47.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200,409 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 15.7% of Sessa Capital IM L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Sessa Capital IM L.P.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $427,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ABT opened at $117.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $203.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.55 and a 200 day moving average of $109.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.07.

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.