Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,209,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,225,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $4,877,174,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,802,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,635,832,000 after purchasing an additional 620,039 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,951,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,894,979,000 after buying an additional 52,074 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE JNJ opened at $218.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.95. The company has a market capitalization of $527.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34. 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 has a 52 week low of $141.50 and a 52 week high of $220.11.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 50.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.33.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.