LifePlan Financial LLC Lowers Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

LifePlan Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $145.96. 2,481,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,315,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.79. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 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.