Cerity Partners LLC Buys 132,189 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,459,080 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132,189 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $236,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 20.4% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 132,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,439,000 after acquiring an additional 22,431 shares during the period. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the third quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 17,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth approximately $5,380,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $155.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $160.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.21. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 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 upped 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.