Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 25.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,809 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 7,934 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 0.9% of Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,976,382,000 after buying an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $249,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.9 %

ABT stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $113.39. The company had a trading volume of 5,311,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,705,911. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $92.43 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.