Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 45,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,926 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $43,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $49,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa America lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $163.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $163.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.92. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $393.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.