Cypress Capital Group Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cypress Capital Group decreased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,834 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 1.4% of Cypress Capital Group’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $12,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at about $765,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,487,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,634,000 after buying an additional 703,158 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 105,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,637,000 after acquiring an additional 9,556 shares in the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 33.3% during the first quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 8.4% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 21,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.10 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.17. The firm has a market cap of $368.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS 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 last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.