Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,040 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $28,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $765,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,487,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,634,000 after buying an additional 703,158 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 105,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,637,000 after buying an additional 9,556 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 33.3% in the first quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.4% during the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 21,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.10 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.17. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.