Drake & Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Drake & Associates LLC cut its Johnson & Johnson stake by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,734 shares and leaving it with 9,919 shares worth about $2.05 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 69.55% of JNJ shares held by hedge funds and other institutions. Several large investors, including Norges Bank and Vanguard, either added to or initiated positions during the quarter.
• Johnson & Johnson continues to draw positive attention from analysts and investors: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share, and reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

Drake & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,919 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,734 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.4% of Drake & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,924,523,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,005,942,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,423,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,571,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655,754 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,471,031 shares of the company's stock worth $1,546,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,605,981 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson’s prostate cancer drug Erleada showed encouraging clinical results, with Reuters-reported data indicating it cut the risk of cancer spread or death by 20% in a study setting. That kind of pipeline progress can support longer-term revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to be highlighted as a strong dividend stock, with articles pointing to Johnson & Johnson’s long history of dividend increases and its appeal to income-focused investors seeking stability in a volatile market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in a Florida contact lens manufacturing facility, reinforcing confidence in future operating capacity and U.S. production investment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces describe JNJ as a defensive name that may hold up better if markets weaken, but these articles are largely opinion-based and do not add new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have been soft over the past few months, with one note saying the stock is down about 3% in three months despite solid results and pipeline progress. That recent weakness may be weighing on sentiment even as investors debate whether the dip is attractive. Article Title

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $228.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $149.04 and a 1 year high of $251.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $230.61 and a 200 day moving average of $228.09. The company has a market cap of $549.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.97%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company's pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.

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