Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 324,566 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,292 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $47,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,519,000. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Newport Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth $427,000. Saratoga Research & Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 551,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,644,000 after purchasing an additional 112,234 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.6% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,767,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $161.40 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a market capitalization of $388.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.15 and a 200 day moving average of $154.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

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.