Townsend & Associates Inc Sells 95 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Townsend & Associates Inc decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,695 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5 %

JNJ traded up $2.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.52. 6,608,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,354,839. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.11. The firm has a market cap of $369.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.