Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Lessened by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 16.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,898 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Citizens & Northern Corp lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 16,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,643,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% in the second quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 16,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $165.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.68 and a 200 day moving average of $153.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $165.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.21.

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.