Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 818,755 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.2%, now holding approximately 6.52 million shares valued at $864.99 million, making up 0.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share, meeting analysts' expectations, and a revenue of $11.14 billion, which exceeded anticipated revenue of $11.01 billion.
• The company has just declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.8%, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,520,912 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 818,755 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.37% of Abbott Laboratories worth $864,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 23,842 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 351,598 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $39,771,000 after acquiring an additional 96,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $866,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $134.41. 4,985,430 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The stock has a market cap of $233.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $107.11 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.69 and a 200-day moving average of $130.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

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.