Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 367,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,339 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.8% of Whittier Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the 4th quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $164.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.38. 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 has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $165.83.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson 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.