Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,589,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 191,189 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.9% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,012,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,061,000 after acquiring an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% in the third quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,125,000 after acquiring an additional 21,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,998,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.10 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.17. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.