Mackenzie Financial Corp Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,454,307 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 79,652 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $160,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $108.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.51. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $188.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.14.

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.