Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,361 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,361 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.33.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.15. The company has a market cap of $197.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.