Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the period. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,458,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $151.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

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.