O Brien Wealth Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

O Brien Wealth Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 20.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 241,799 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,620,000 after purchasing an additional 498,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $146.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. 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 has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.