Essex Financial Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,232 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.1% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third 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 last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,458,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $149.27 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $154.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $359.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 3.32%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.