BNP Paribas Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

BNP Paribas reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $154.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

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.