Appleton Partners Inc. MA Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,112 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 about $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

JNJ opened at $161.17 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $387.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.26. 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 results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

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.