Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 40.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,563 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,059 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $23,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after buying an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at $331,178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $152.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $367.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.97. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’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 value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.