Plato Investment Management Ltd Cuts Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9%, now holding 60,688 shares worth approximately $10.17 million, making it their 20th largest position.
• Insider selling was noted as EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares for over $10 million, significantly reducing her ownership by 24.08%.
• Johnson & Johnson's recent earnings report indicated a profit of $2.77 per share, exceeding estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.8% to $23.74 billion.

Plato Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,688 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,146 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.9% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $47,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter worth about $48,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $177.12 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $169.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.02. 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 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $181.16. The company has a market cap of $426.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Leerink Partners lowered Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.29.

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.

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