Connors Investor Services Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,242 shares of the company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 27.8% during the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 10,476 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15.4% in the second quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 15,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Daiwa America downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $167.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.