Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.5%, now owning 16,510 shares valued at $2.74 million.
• Analysts have shown a positive outlook for Johnson & Johnson, with several raising their price targets and ratings, resulting in a consensus target price of $174.50.
• Johnson & Johnson announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a yield of 3.09%, payable on September 9th to shareholders of record on August 26th.

Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,510 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,369 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 41,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,648,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $665,000. Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 70,685 shares of the company's stock worth $10,223,000 after buying an additional 11,737 shares during the period. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 42,849 shares of the company's stock worth $6,197,000 after buying an additional 12,359 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $2.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $167.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,914,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,077,193. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $157.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given 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 is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.