Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. lowered its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 26.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $149.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $158.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.36.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.67.

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.