Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Optimum Investment Advisors

Optimum Investment Advisors reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during 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 in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $164.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $162.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.66. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.