Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,949 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,266 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $24,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 42,762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,875,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $224,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,671 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,639 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $128.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.83. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $132.50. The company has a market cap of $222.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.