Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Lessened by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 45.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,016 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.3% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.9 %

JNJ opened at $151.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.