Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Lowers Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 174,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,040 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $28,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 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 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.10 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. 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.