Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 42,716 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 17.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,162 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,716 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 2.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $33,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $1,542,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 8,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 74,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,143,000 after buying an additional 4,941 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $152.97. The company had a trading volume of 8,231,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,024,149. The company's 50 day moving average price is $160.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $368.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.78%.

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.