Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Cut by Guardian Asset Advisors LLC

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,846 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Advocate Group LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 57,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% during the third quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 26,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $14,585,000. Finally, Wealth Group Ltd purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $213,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.43.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $160.60. 568,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,027,086. 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 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.