Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp has reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 33.4%, selling 743,224 shares and now owning 1,484,457 shares valued at approximately $196.9 million.
• Following significant investments, 75.18% of Abbott Laboratories' stock is currently held by institutional investors, with T. Rowe Price and GAMMA Investing showing substantial increases in their stakes.
• Abbott Laboratories recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, to be paid on August 15th, representing a 1.87% dividend yield.

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 33.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,484,457 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 743,224 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $196,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th 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 period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,079,490 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $122,101,000 after acquiring an additional 80,661 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 254,544 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $28,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,062,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,925,423. The stock's 50 day moving average is $131.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.17. The firm has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $103.55 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

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.