Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,797 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 2.4% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $56,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 40,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,598,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 39.1% during the third quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 8,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 2,356 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 219.1% during the third quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 14,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 9,894 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 43,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,037,000 after buying an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,774,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $160.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $385.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, 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 one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.28.

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. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 19.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. TD Securities reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.