Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 114,184 shares of the company’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.8% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.7% in the first quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 45,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,165,000 after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 113.3% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 36,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,268 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 19,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $2.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $144.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,814,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,383,957. The business has a fifty day moving average of $154.80 and a 200 day moving average of $155.14. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $348.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.