Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Lowers Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,045 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 11,165 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.39. 6,742,032 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,732,088. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $91.64 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $207.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.