Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 18.3%, now holding 224,924 shares valued at approximately $37.3 million.
• Johnson & Johnson reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.77, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.09, with a revenue of $23.74 billion.
• Recent analyst upgrades have seen price targets for Johnson & Johnson increase, with UBS raising its target to $190.00 and Citigroup to $200.00, maintaining a strong buy outlook.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,924 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,543 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $37,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,962,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,800,371,000 after buying an additional 1,170,120 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,943,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,131,723,000 after purchasing an additional 130,645 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842,582 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,899,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,133,602,000 after purchasing an additional 712,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,282,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,031,955,000 after purchasing an additional 448,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $178.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $429.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $181.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $163.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.48.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for 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 last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.29.

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.

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