Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 67,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 175,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,049,000 after buying an additional 82,429 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,095,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 860,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,488,000 after acquiring an additional 20,528 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $144.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $348.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $156.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.82.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share 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 net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 34.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.31.

Insider Activity

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

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.