Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,296 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.3% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospector Partners LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 66,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,801,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Elios Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $717,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,891,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,662,000 after acquiring an additional 205,789 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 63.3% during the third quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 34,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,620,000 after purchasing an additional 13,440 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.75 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $159.98 and its 200 day moving average is $156.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued 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 yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.