ING Groep NV Cuts Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ING Groep NV reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 331,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170,957 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $151.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $365.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 $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 3.27%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Securities reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued 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 an average price target of $175.00.

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.