D.B. Root & Company LLC Lowers Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

D.B. Root & Company LLC cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 984 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.00.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was 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 this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $157.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.96 and a 200 day moving average of $155.76. The company has a market capitalization of $379.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

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.