Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,464 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,963,974,000 after buying an additional 488,764 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,942,709,000 after acquiring an additional 280,441 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,518,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,265,762,000 after purchasing an additional 585,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $128.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $117.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.83. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $132.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $222.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.47% 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.