Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $69,859,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.11. 3,299,437 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,066,686. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.04. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $344.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.