Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $59.86 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 527,767 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $59,855,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $635,056,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $135,886,000 after buying an additional 1,196,018 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after buying an additional 1,180,040 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22,466.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,006,223 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $113,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $124.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.82.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

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.