Freedom Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $159.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.38. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.