Verum Partners LLC Lowers Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Verum Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. 4J Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. My Personal CFO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

JNJ stock opened at $145.62 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.