SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 28,958 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.3% of SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.8% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,415,759 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $154,346,000 after acquiring an additional 126,547 shares during the period. Core Alternative Capital grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 27.0% in the second quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,290 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 315.5% during the first quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 12,182 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,234,000 after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 99,836 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,109,000 after buying an additional 11,303 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the first quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC now owns 26,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,709,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.50. 458,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,177,664. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $115.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.79. The stock has a market cap of $190.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.15% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $10.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 12th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 11th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 69.39%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total transaction of $1,620,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,022,916. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.05, for a total transaction of $4,702,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,725,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,515,969.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 15,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total value of $1,620,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,022,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.80.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Free Report)

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 Established Pharmaceutical Products segment 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.

See Also

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