MA Private Wealth Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

MA Private Wealth lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. MA Private Wealth’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.96. The stock had a trading volume of 2,481,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,315,834. The company has a market cap of $351.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during 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%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.