Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 178.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,458 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,708 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $2,305,000. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 54,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,799,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 66,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,801,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.26. The company had a trading volume of 673,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,047,344. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.98 and a 200 day moving average of $156.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

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.