Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Position Lessened by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $165.12 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.98 and a 200-day moving average of $154.69.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.