WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,124 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the first 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 lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $164.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $396.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.02 and its 200 day moving average is $154.17. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.