Sessa Capital IM L.P. Acquires 1,200,409 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sessa Capital IM L.P. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 47.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200,409 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 15.7% of Sessa Capital IM L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Sessa Capital IM L.P. owned 0.22% of Abbott Laboratories worth $427,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% during the third quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp now owns 3,890 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,044,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $121,733,000 after buying an additional 77,554 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 165,125 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,826,000 after acquiring an additional 16,812 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,518,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,586 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $203.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.80.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.