Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.3% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $290,000. Capital & Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after acquiring an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $85,886,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 105,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,257,000 after buying an additional 18,082 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.19 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The stock has a market cap of $373.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.70.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.