Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Stock Holdings Lowered by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,754 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 707.1% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Freedom Capital downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.87.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $242.49 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $141.50 and a fifty-two week high of $251.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.82. 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 company has a market cap of $584.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.34.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The business had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a $1.30 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. This trade represents a 21.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total value of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,540,469.77. This trade represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.