Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.0% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $765,000. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 14.3% in the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 183,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,008,000 after buying an additional 22,943 shares in the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% in the first quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,375,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% in the first quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 31.3% in the first quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $156.71 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. 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.