Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Cut by Nemes Rush Group LLC

Nemes Rush Group LLC cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,039 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.4% of Nemes Rush Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded down $1.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.23. 830,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,287,731. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $366.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.