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

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,633 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

ABT stock opened at $113.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.97 and a 200-day moving average of $108.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment 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 $124.33.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.