Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Position Boosted by Natural Investments LLC

Natural Investments LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,342 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Apexium Financial LP increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 23,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 234,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 73,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,164,000 after purchasing an additional 4,816 shares during the period. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 215,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $200.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.94.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $190.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $459.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $192.10.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

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.