Rice Partnership LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Rice Partnership LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 16,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.6% during the second quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the second quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 16,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.8 %

JNJ stock opened at $167.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $402.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $167.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.42 and its 200 day moving average is $153.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.