Conning Inc. Decreases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Conning Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 201,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,811 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $33,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. Horan Securities Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 10,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the first quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,582,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,036,373. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $153.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $374.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

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.