Mechanics Financial Corp Has $2.14 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,670 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.1% of Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Citizens & Northern Corp lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 16,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,643,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 16,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $167.16 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $167.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.60.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.