Hamlin Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Hamlin Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 22.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 870,930 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250,259 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 3.1% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $133,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ellis Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the second quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the second quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.2% during the second quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the second quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $193.27 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $465.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.90. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $194.40.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $167.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.