Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Lessened by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 881 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after buying an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during 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 buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $153.18 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.17. The company has a market capitalization of $368.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

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.