Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $85,886,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 47,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $152.38 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $366.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.03 and a 200-day moving average of $153.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.