Saratoga Research & Investment Management Increases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 551,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,234 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 3.7% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $80,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,464,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% in the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Securities decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $161.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.16. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $388.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 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.