BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 50.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 267,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267,426 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $43,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 137.2% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,061,000 after buying an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 87,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,125,000 after acquiring an additional 21,471 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.3% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,998,000 after buying an additional 4,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 22.90 % 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 insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.79 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 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.