Three Dividend Stocks Wall Street Loves

Are you looking for a dividend stock that can pay you passive income for the rest of your life? Below are three dividend stocks that Wall Street is ga-ga about:

Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT): With 21 analyst Buy ratings and just 1 Sell rating, Abbott Labs is a stock adorned by Wall Street. Abbott delivers a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, or $1.80 annually, which has been raised for 49 consecutive years. Abbott is such a strong dividend payer that it is a member of the prestige S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have increased dividends annually for at least 25 consecutive years. The dividend yield stands at just 1.5% but investors should be expecting another increase in January 2022. Jefferies analyst Raj Denhoy, who rates the stock a Buy with a $145 price target, highlighted the following key facts on Abbott after earnings in October: 1) COVID testing still elevated with $1-$1.4bn baked into 4Q guide, 2) screening versus symptomatic testing appears somewhat durable, 3) Amulet US adoption trending ahead of internal expectations with buy-in across 40% of targeted accounts, 4) T2 adoption (II and non-insulin) drives Libre to another new high; 5) Aiming for well north of 5% share in TAVR w/Portico overtime.

Target (NYSE: TGT): 28 of 40 analysts rate Target a Buy, and the average price target of $275.88 offers 8% upside from current levels. The company boasts a healthy $0.90 per quarter dividend, or $3.60 annually, which was raised 32% in August. The August dividend hike marked the 50th consecutive year in which Target has increased its annual dividend. It is another member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index. The dividend yield is currently sitting at 1.4% while the stock is up an impressive 45% YTD. In mid-October, Goldman Sachs removed the stock from its Conviction List but still rates it a Buy and sees the stock headed to $308 per share, suggesting 20% upside. Goldman analyst Kate McShane thinks the pace of revenue growth should slow into 2022 to be in-line with historical levels.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT): 44 of 50 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy and shares are up an impressive 49.5% year-to-date. The company pays a dividend of $0.62 per quarter, or $2.48 annually, which was just raised 10.7% in September. The 0.7% dividend yield is paltry at this time but the company has seen yields of over 3% in the recent past. Not only is Microsoft returning cash to shareholders in the form of a dividend, but also executing a new $60 billion stock buyback plan. Wall Street analyst Keith Weiss of Morgan Stanley loves the fact that the company has sustained its 20% constant currency revenue growth despite being at a >$180 billion revenue run rate and he sees “durable” 20% EPS growth, which he said suggests the stock is still undervalued.

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