Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 28,659 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,503,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,659 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.8% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Johnson & Johnson worth $405,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% in the third quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,125,000 after buying an additional 21,471 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,998,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,061,000 after purchasing an additional 25,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $153.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $161.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.13.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.