Essex LLC Sells 1,519 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Essex LLC reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,519 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.0% of Essex LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Essex LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $165.12 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $162.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.69. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a market capitalization of $397.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.