Essex Savings Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Essex Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,434 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 2.9% of Essex Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $11,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after buying an additional 754,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,921,565,000 after buying an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,357,000 after acquiring an additional 437,637 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $155.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $162.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.00.

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.