Financial Counselors Inc. Buys 9,309 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,093 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $29,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,061,000 after acquiring an additional 25,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,125,000 after purchasing an additional 21,471 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup lifted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $155.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $159.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

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.