Auxier Asset Management Sells 1,851 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Auxier Asset Management lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,851 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.7% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth $31,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $164.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $394.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.20. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

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.