Empowered Funds LLC Buys 13,910 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,102 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,910 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.4% of Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $27,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 85,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,845,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,061,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 634,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,851,000 after acquiring an additional 33,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the third quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 129,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,047,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $151.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $365.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.82 and a 200-day moving average of $155.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

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.