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

Sessa Capital IM L.P. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,006,723 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 257,221 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 16.2% of Sessa Capital IM L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Sessa Capital IM L.P. owned about 0.23% of Abbott Laboratories worth $453,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73% 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 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE ABT traded down $0.37 on Tuesday, hitting $135.18. 6,455,131 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,122,132. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.46 and a 200-day moving average of $124.29. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $235.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.