Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,316 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 80,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,316 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.4% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $12,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $218,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 48.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 43,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,215,000 after purchasing an additional 14,118 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,698,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,734,000 after purchasing an additional 107,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.59.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE JNJ opened at $190.96 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $194.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.34. The stock has a market cap of $459.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.08% and a net margin of 27.26%.The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.61%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.