Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 24.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,020 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 16,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,643,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% during the second quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the second quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 16,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $165.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $398.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $159.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.04. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.