Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Bought by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,653 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.7% of Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,227,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,676 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,943,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,131,723,000 after buying an additional 130,645 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,802,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,635,832,000 after buying an additional 620,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,899,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,602,000 after buying an additional 712,181 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $200.10 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $200.30. The company has a market cap of $482.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $186.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.19%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.05.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.