Lafayette Investments Inc. Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,642 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.6% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 707.1% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $244.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $589.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $216.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.85. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $141.50 and a twelve month high of $246.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.34%. The company had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.