West Family Investments Inc. Has $1.58 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings 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 raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,061,000 after buying an additional 25,203 shares in the last quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,125,000 after acquiring an additional 21,471 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,998,000 after acquiring an additional 4,174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley increased 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, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $152.97 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $368.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.83 and a 200 day moving average of $156.19. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.