SPC Financial Inc. Sells 170 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SPC Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,105 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the second quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 11,165 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the first quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 8,290 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the first quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $114.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $198.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.78 and a 200 day moving average of $108.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three equities research 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, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.