Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by tru Independence LLC

tru Independence LLC trimmed its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

JNJ stock opened at $145.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change 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 is currently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.