SSA Swiss Advisors AG Invests $3.42 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• SSA Swiss Advisors AG made a significant investment in Abbott Laboratories, purchasing 26,386 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million, which represents 1.8% of their holdings.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported Q2 earnings of $1.26 EPS, matching analyst expectations, with a revenue increase of 7.4% year-over-year at $11.14 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.84%, highlighting a healthy payout ratio of 29.57%.

SSA Swiss Advisors AG bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,386 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,421,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.8% of SSA Swiss Advisors AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cim LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the first quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ABT traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.90. The stock had a trading volume of 637,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,913,095. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $107.11 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $220.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $131.86 and its 200 day moving average is $130.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories 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.