Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 490 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $177.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.97. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $181.16. The stock has a market cap of $427.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%.Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.40.

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.