NS Partners Ltd Has $2.78 Million Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• NS Partners Ltd reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 78.5% in Q1, now holding shares valued at $2.78 million after selling 61,179 shares.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Johnson & Johnson, with 69.55% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Johnson & Johnson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.0%.

NS Partners Ltd lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 78.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,764 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,179 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Elios Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the first quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the company's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the first quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JNJ. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $171.41 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $158.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.27. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $172.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 55.61%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.