Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,009 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.1% of Little House Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,945,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,483,532,000 after acquiring an additional 241,799 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after purchasing an additional 498,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,169,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,908,000 after purchasing an additional 975,485 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, June 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $146.03 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $351.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.