Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.9% of Meritage Portfolio Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $155.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,482,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,047,072. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $153.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.03. The company has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.