Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 1.31 million shares valued at $173.93 million.
• Abbott Laboratories recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, with a yield of 1.87% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.
• Wall Street analysts have a positive outlook for Abbott Laboratories, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $144.47, while several firms have upgraded their price objectives for the stock.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,311,221 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 44,886 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $173,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Cim LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ABT traded up $1.18 on Friday, hitting $127.37. 3,011,899 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,930,289. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $131.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $107.11 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

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.