Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Purchases 306 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 161,850 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $23,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $164.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $157.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $395.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion during 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%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.