Verity & Verity LLC Has $15.56 Million Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 96,035 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.5% of Verity & Verity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $15,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after purchasing an additional 437,637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $154.77 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $161.11 and a 200-day moving average of $156.16. The firm has a market cap of $372.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

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.