Vertex Planning Partners LLC Raises Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,211 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% in the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. 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 Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $154.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.16. 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 $372.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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