Centre Asset Management LLC Sells 61,587 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Centre Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 76.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,587 shares during the quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $154.99. The stock had a trading volume of 15,529,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,975,488. The firm has a market cap of $372.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.63.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

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.