Banco Santander S.A. Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 43.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,117 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $331,178,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.79 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.17. The company has a market cap of $375.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

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.