Monte Financial Group LLC Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Monte Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 2.4% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 valued at $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,357,000 after acquiring an additional 437,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.3 %

JNJ opened at $163.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $393.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. 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 has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.92.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

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.