Smith Group Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 115,296 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 77,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,702,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 51,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,327,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 34.1% in the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 66,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,745,000 after purchasing an additional 16,870 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 53.0% during the third quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 15.1% during the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 24,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $160.14 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $385.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut 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 report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

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.