Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 3,030 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,408 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,030 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $145.65 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.56. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53. 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 announced 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.07.

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.