Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.

Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. decreased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $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. raised its holdings 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 worth $2,483,532,000 after acquiring an additional 241,799 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after acquiring an additional 498,647 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,169,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,908,000 after acquiring an additional 975,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $145.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $350.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.