Searle & CO. Sells 4,200 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Searle & CO. decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 1.6% of Searle & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $165.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $399.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.92.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.