Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8%, selling 1,412 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 49,250 shares valued at approximately $8.17 million.
• Numerous institutional investors increased their stakes in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter, with Highline Wealth Partners LLC growing their holdings by 51.8%, now owning 252 shares valued at $42,000.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Johnson & Johnson, with Barclays setting a new target of $176.00 and Royal Bank Of Canada increasing it to $185.00, indicating a favorable outlook for the stock.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,250 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,412 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $47,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $48,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.1%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $178.30. 8,325,117 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,659,331. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $181.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $169.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total value of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

Johnson & Johnson 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.