Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 45.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,016 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.3% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,921,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,357,000 after purchasing an additional 437,637 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.9 %

JNJ stock opened at $151.86 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 stock has a market capitalization of $365.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.82 and a 200-day moving average of $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.