Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,102 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,910 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.4% of Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $27,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in 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. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $151.64 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $365.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $161.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Seven 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson 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.