Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 40,347 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 568,114 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,347 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $75,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:ABT opened at $131.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $228.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.17. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $107.11 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.