Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,275 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,647 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 2.0% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $30,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on JNJ
Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance
Shares of JNJ opened at $167.33 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 55.61%.
Johnson & Johnson Company Profile
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Free Report)
Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.
Further Reading
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