Eastover Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,112 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,130 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 3.3% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions 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 purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in 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 worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $159.56 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.30. The firm has a market cap of $384.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

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.