Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% in the first quarter, holding 41,814 shares valued at approximately $6.93 million.
• Analyst price targets for Johnson & Johnson shares have increased, with Bank of America raising its target from $161 to $175, while Royal Bank of Canada set it at $185.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, representing a 3.0% yield, with a payout ratio of 55.61%.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,814 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,759 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded up $1.87 on Friday, hitting $173.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,686,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,496,232. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $173.96. The stock has a market cap of $417.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Johnson & Johnson's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on JNJ. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.50.

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.