Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,523 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.4 %

JNJ stock opened at $162.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $391.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

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.