Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.2%, selling 17,209 shares and holding 112,913 shares valued at approximately $18.7 million.
• Recent analyst activity shows varied ratings, with Goldman Sachs upgrading the stock to "buy" and raising the target price from $157 to $172, while Raymond James decreased its price target from $165 to $162.
• Johnson & Johnson declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, to be paid on September 9th, representing an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 3.0%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,913 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,209 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of JNJ traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.40. The stock had a trading volume of 7,686,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,496,232. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $173.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $159.26 and its 200 day moving average is $157.44. The firm has a market cap of $417.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.41.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.