Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,109,047 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 68,779 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $126,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $34,313,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,091,000 after buying an additional 31,720 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 110.1% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 31,148 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 16,325 shares during the period. Finally, Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $2,176,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $115.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $200.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.87%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.