Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Aldebaran Financial Inc.

Aldebaran Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,187 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,354 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.4% of Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244,862 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489,925 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $146.64 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $353.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

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.