Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 373,245 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,357 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $54,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy 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 $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $165.52 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $159.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.94. The company has a market cap of $398.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.