Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Lowers Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,809 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 7,934 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 0.9% of Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $113.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,686,343. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $92.43 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $198.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

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.