Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 388,476 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 4,135 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.1% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $51,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,896 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 23,396 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $703,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $10.99 on Thursday, hitting $120.76. 27,541,366 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,250,649. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business's 50 day moving average price is $133.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.32. The company has a market capitalization of $210.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.33.

Abbott Laboratories 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.