Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,679 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 105,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,637,000 after purchasing an additional 9,556 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,487,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,634,000 after acquiring an additional 703,158 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 50,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 65,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,383,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 122,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,378,000 after acquiring an additional 22,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $160.64. 8,356,878 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,651,893. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.74 and a 200-day moving average of $153.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.79%. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

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.