Financial Counselors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,093 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $29,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% during 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. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.39 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $374.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.