Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) VP Sells $3,761,128.00 in Stock

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) VP Peter Fasolo sold 22,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.50, for a total value of $3,761,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,676 shares in the company, valued at $18,864,202. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $3.60 on Friday, hitting $168.71. 8,458,724 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,475,205. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $155.72 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The stock has a market cap of $443.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.80 and a 200 day moving average of $172.67.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 18th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.32% and a net margin of 19.95%. The business had revenue of $23.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 14th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.2% of its shares through open market purchases . Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 22nd will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 21st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on JNJ. StockNews.com began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $201.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 5th. SVB Leerink cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $200.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $192.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% in the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 18,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Marotta Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24.4% in the first quarter. Marotta Asset Management now owns 4,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the first quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. McNaughton Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.9% in the first quarte r. McNaughton Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.0% in the first quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 21,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.59% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches and develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company’s Consumer Health segment offers baby care products under the JOHNSON’S and AVEENO Baby brands; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR.

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