Searle & CO. Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Searle & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,220 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 1.7% of Searle & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $35,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $47,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $186.50 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $194.48. The firm has a market cap of $449.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.70.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 32.73%. The firm had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $174.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.