Kennedy Investment Group Lowers Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kennedy Investment Group lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $758,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,758,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,102 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’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 directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.39 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $348.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.54 and its 200 day moving average is $155.74.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released 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 return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.36.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.