Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Position Raised by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,714,260 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 344,641 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $601,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the second quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% during the second quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $368.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. 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’s 50-day moving average is $160.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Guggenheim raised their price objective 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

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.