Guggenheim Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 348,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,601 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.5% of Guggenheim Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 25,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,067,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth approximately $2,161,000. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.8% during the first quarter. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.6% during the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 972,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,808,000 after acquiring an additional 69,007 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $187.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.80.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $166.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $432.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.68 and a 200 day moving average of $161.48. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $150.11 and a twelve month high of $181.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.72% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $25.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 96.36%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 12,465 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,994,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,549,440. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 12,465 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,994,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,549,440. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider William Hait sold 14,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $2,528,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 87,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,163 shares of company stock worth $7,928,856. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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 Consumer Health segment provides skin health/beauty products under the AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, DR. CI:LABO, NEUTROGENA, and OGX brands; baby care products under the JOHNSON'S and AVEENO Baby brands; oral care products under the LISTERINE brand; TYLENOL acetaminophen products; SUDAFED cold, flu, and allergy products; BENADRYL and ZYRTEC allergy products; MOTRIN IB ibuprofen products; NICORETTE smoking cessation products; and PEPCID acid reflux products.