Garde Capital Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Garde Capital Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,009 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised 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 worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $146.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.28.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.