Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by South Street Advisors LLC

South Street Advisors LLC cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 142.1% in the third quarter. Evergreen Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,990,000 after buying an additional 14,450 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 2,097,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,870,000 after buying an additional 109,235 shares during the period. LJI Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.0% in the third quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.4% in the third quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $5,030,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.4 %

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,328,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,017,128. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $161.35 and its 200 day moving average is $156.02. The company has a market cap of $370.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.