Howland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 27.8% during the first quarter, now holding 74,439 shares valued at approximately $12.35 million.
• In contrast, GAMMA Investing LLC dramatically increased its holdings by 24,450.4%, now owning over 7.2 million shares worth nearly $1.2 billion.
• Johnson & Johnson's stock has shown resilience, with a market capitalization of $396.81 billion and a dividend yield of 3.2% after announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,439 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,595 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $12,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after acquiring an additional 7,185,977 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock worth $3,844,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1,382.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,030,084 shares of the company's stock worth $502,509,000 after buying an additional 2,825,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $164.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $396.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $157.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.44. 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 data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The business had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 55.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Leerink Partnrs cut Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.50.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.

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