Essex LLC Decreases Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Essex LLC reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 754 shares during the period. Essex LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $52,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Guggenheim raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $188.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.59.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $193.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $180.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.80. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $194.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 33.08%. The firm had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.