Northeast Investment Management Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Northeast Investment Management lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 189,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 572 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.4% of Northeast Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $30,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after acquiring an additional 754,200 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after acquiring an additional 437,637 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $158.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $163.18 and its 200 day moving average is $155.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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 business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

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.