Ariel Investments LLC Sells 696 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ariel Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 696 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut 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 note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $160.65 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $386.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.