Independence Bank of Kentucky Decreases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,063 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.2% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $453,000. Horan Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 10,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $155.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $153.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 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.