Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Tower Bridge Advisors

Key Points

• Tower Bridge Advisors reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.5%, now owning 96,528 shares valued at approximately $16 million.
• Johnson & Johnson's recent earnings beat analysts' expectations with an EPS of $2.77 and revenue of $23.74 billion, indicating a 5.8% year-over-year increase.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Johnson & Johnson, with a consensus target of $174.50, resulting in a moderate buy rating for the stock.

Tower Bridge Advisors cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,528 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,521 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.8% of Tower Bridge Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Tower Bridge Advisors' holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $16,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 74,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% in the 4th 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, Range Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of JNJ traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.76. 9,876,897 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,007,298. The firm has a market cap of $396.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.