Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 7,371,687 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15,040.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,371,687 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,133,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth $48,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.05.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $206.07 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $206.94. The stock has a market cap of $496.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. The business 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%. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.19%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

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.