Lavaca Capital LLC Sells 1,930 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Lavaca Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after acquiring 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 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,357,000 after buying an additional 437,637 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $164.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.30 and a 200-day moving average of $154.16. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $395.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Seven equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.