First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 16.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,877 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,874 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.5% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% in the first quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,464,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the first quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,695,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Haims Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.4% in the first quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $159.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 2.90 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 has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.