Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Sells 407 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV trimmed its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Meridian Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% during the first quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,464,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,695,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.93.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $162.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $391.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.07. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $168.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.04 and its 200 day moving average is $154.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio 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.