London Co. of Virginia Sells 42,828 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

London Co. of Virginia lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,767,375 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,828 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 1.8% of London Co. of Virginia’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. London Co. of Virginia owned 0.07% of Johnson & Johnson worth $327,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,877,174,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,371,687 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 545.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,865,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266,354 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085,180 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,512,719,000 after buying an additional 2,163,838 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE JNJ opened at $243.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.13. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $141.50 and a one year high of $251.71. The firm has a market cap of $585.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $210.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $262.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

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.