Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,760 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. TD Securities cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $162.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.18.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.