Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,936 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.7% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. My Personal CFO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

JNJ stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.14. The company had a trading volume of 6,182,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,728,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $352.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.29.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.