Sovran Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sovran Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 74.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,901 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,814 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $155.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,894,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,034,352. The stock has a market cap of $374.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $153.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio is 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.