William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,619 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

ABT stock opened at $112.43 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $111.57 and its 200 day moving average is $108.19. The company has a market capitalization of $195.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.