Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Purchased by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,093 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $29,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company's stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company's stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,100,427,000 after acquiring an additional 754,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $155.40. 4,140,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,057,054. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.