Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $43,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 217.1% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $159.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $162.62 and its 200 day moving average is $154.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.43.

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.