Vest Financial LLC Buys 16,996 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,489 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,996 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. &PARTNERS boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.5% in the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 31,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 545,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,254,000 after purchasing an additional 24,686 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 15,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 178,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 9,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’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 transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $165.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.69. The firm has a market cap of $397.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.