Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 8,358 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Morse Asset Management Inc cut its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,358 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,019,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391,657 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,453,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,499 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $193,050,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $160.64. The stock had a trading volume of 8,356,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,651,893. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.79% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Eight investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

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.