Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 249.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,109 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,329 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.7% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $164.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $395.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson 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.