Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $10.24 Million Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 62,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,625 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.5% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Carret Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 86,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,005,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Kooman & Associates bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 982,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,239,000 after purchasing an additional 130,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 38,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $161.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $163.45 and its 200 day moving average is $155.19. The stock has a market cap of $388.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.46%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid 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 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.