Meridian Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 42,560 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $765,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 86,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 351,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,667,000 after purchasing an additional 23,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $155.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $375.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup increased 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. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.