Ascent Group LLC Has $5.51 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 80.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,026 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,141 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5,447.8% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 119,797 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,391,000. Alerus Financial NA grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 84.3% in the third quarter. Alerus Financial NA now owns 53,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,610,000 after acquiring an additional 24,296 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $1,690,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $267,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.01 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.15 and a 200-day moving average of $156.46. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $373.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

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.