Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Position Cut by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9%, now holding 268,531 shares valued at approximately $41 million.
• Johnson & Johnson recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.0% with a payout ratio of 55.61%.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.77, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $23.74 billion, marking a 5.8% increase year-over-year.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 268,531 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,786 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $41,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $1,369,188,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,596,000 after acquiring an additional 7,185,977 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,844,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,825,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $349,206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.87.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE JNJ traded up $1.81 on Friday, hitting $175.97. 25,617,065 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,995,150. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $172.80 and a 200 day moving average of $161.69. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $181.16. The company has a market capitalization of $423.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is 55.61%.

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.