Sessa Capital IM L.P. Has $453.20 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sessa Capital IM L.P. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,006,723 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 257,221 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 16.2% of Sessa Capital IM L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sessa Capital IM L.P. owned approximately 0.23% of Abbott Laboratories worth $453,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Security National Bank of SO Dak raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 24,588 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Sig Brokerage LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,058,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,281,146 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $144,910,000 after buying an additional 72,319 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 196,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,249,000 after buying an additional 20,236 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,149,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $134.79 on Friday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.03. The company has a market cap of $234.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

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.