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

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.3% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 13,246 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Anderson Hoagland & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $272,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 4,591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 22,096 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $1.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $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 fifty day simple moving average of $113.97 and a 200 day simple moving average 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. The company has a market cap of $207.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

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.