Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 27.8%, selling 144,040 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 373,942 shares.
• Recent analyst ratings for JNJ show a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $174.50, indicating positive sentiment among market analysts.
• Johnson & Johnson's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with an EPS of $2.77 and revenue of $23.74 billion, marking a 5.8% increase year-over-year.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,942 shares of the company's stock after selling 144,040 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.8% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $61,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,450.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,215,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185,977 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,844,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,948,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,536,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559,147 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1,382.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,030,084 shares of the company's stock worth $502,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,825,626 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,920,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,034,078. 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 has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $404.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $156.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.22.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.