Sanders Morris Harris LLC Sells 4,000 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Sanders Morris Harris LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.6% in Q2, selling 4,000 shares and now holding 2,945 shares valued at approximately $450,000.
• Insider transaction activity includes Jennifer L. Taubert, EVP, selling 56,471 shares for a total of over $10 million, decreasing her position by 24.08%.
• Wall Street analysts have renewed confidence in Johnson & Johnson, with several firms issuing buy ratings and setting targets as high as $214.00 for the stock.

Sanders Morris Harris LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,945 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Apexium Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 23,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 234,647 shares of the company's stock worth $35,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the first quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company's stock worth $12,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.0% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 73,350 shares of the company's stock worth $12,164,000 after purchasing an additional 4,816 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the first quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 16,984 shares of the company's stock worth $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.05.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $192.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $194.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $181.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.56. The stock has a market cap of $464.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Johnson & Johnson 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.