Hamlin Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 22.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 870,930 shares of the company's stock after selling 250,259 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 3.1% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $133,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,634 shares of the company's stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 1,925 shares of the company's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Erste Group Bank raised Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $193.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $465.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $180.49 and its 200 day moving average is $164.90. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $194.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.08% and a net margin of 27.26%. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 50.19%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.

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