Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Position Cut by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 64.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,932 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at about $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $164.16 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $161.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.16.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.