Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases 32,886 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1,566.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,986 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,886 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $15,255,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $337,000. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $999,000. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 303.3% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 13,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,538,000 after buying an additional 10,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $336,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $103.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 222,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,608,764. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $180.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.