Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 39.3% during the first quarter, now owning 9,809 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Abbott Laboratories, with price targets ranging from $135.00 to $148.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, which will be paid on August 15th, representing an annual yield of 1.9%.

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 39.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,809 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 6,354 shares during the quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during 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 buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0%

ABT stock traded up $1.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $132.23. 1,557,605 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,878,710. 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 has a 52-week low of $107.11 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.