SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,114 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 100.9% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,125.0% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 245 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. Finally, Holloway Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 175.0% in the 1st quarter. Holloway Wealth Management LLC now owns 275 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.14, for a total value of $5,457,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,923,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,630,790. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Fernando Mateus sold 2,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.05, for a total value of $267,935.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,503 shares in the company, valued at $1,581,552.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.14, for a total value of $5,457,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,923,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,630,790. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. BTIG Research cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 21st. Cowen dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $109.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $191.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $101.24 and a 12 month high of $142.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 29.38% and a net margin of 18.78%. The company had revenue of $11.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 15th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 14th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 39.25%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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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 Established Pharmaceutical Products segment 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.