Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 137.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,568 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,203 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Black Diamond Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.0% in the third quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 634,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,851,000 after buying an additional 33,454 shares in the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 129,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,047,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 9,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 7,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $151.84 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $168.85. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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 stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.