Advocate Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Advocate Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,782 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.7% of Advocate Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after buying an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of JNJ traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $160.60. The stock had a trading volume of 568,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,027,086. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid 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 payout ratio is 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, September 30th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.43.

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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.