Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,271 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $14,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 707.1% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Loop Capital set a $220.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $243.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $586.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.35. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $141.50 and a 12 month high of $246.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.