ProVise Management Group LLC Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ProVise Management Group LLC trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,952 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $4,071,642,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,945,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,483,532,000 after purchasing an additional 241,799 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,620,000 after buying an additional 498,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,169,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,908,000 after buying an additional 975,485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday. 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.73. The stock had a trading volume of 7,393,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,332,051. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.26 and its 200 day moving average is $153.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

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.