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

tru Independence LLC trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after buying an additional 2,064,175 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $193,050,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $170,372,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $145.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.91. The company has a market cap of $350.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $1.24 dividend. 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%. 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.