SPC Financial Inc. Sells 1,602 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SPC Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,503 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,602 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake 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 Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $117.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $91.25 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS 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 net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued 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 yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

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.