Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 2,100 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,934 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $635,056,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $135,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,018 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,466.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,006,223 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $113,814,000 after buying an additional 1,001,764 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of ABT traded down $3.03 on Thursday, reaching $124.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,153,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,952,777. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.17. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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.