Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 164,387 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 51,564 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $18,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $126.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.86.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently 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.