Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5%, selling 30,383 shares, and now owns 840,021 shares worth approximately $111.4 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported Q2 earnings matching analyst estimates at $1.26 EPS, with a revenue of $11.14 billion, a 7.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share with an annualized yield of 1.9%, payable on August 15th to stockholders on record as of July 15th.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 840,021 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 30,383 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $111,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 33,096 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 18,375 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 135,791 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,013,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.7% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 10,188 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE ABT traded up $2.76 on Monday, reaching $130.05. 5,670,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,983,422. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $107.11 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $226.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 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.