Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 345,700 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,339,667 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 345,700 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.42% of Abbott Laboratories worth $835,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,844 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 99,116 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $11,301,000 after acquiring an additional 32,021 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.4% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $719,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $126.46 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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 price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.