Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Key Points

• Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 24.0%, owning 82,990 shares worth approximately $13.76 million, making it the 22nd largest position in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have either increased or initiated stakes in Johnson & Johnson, with hedge funds owning around 69.55% of the company's stock.
• Johnson & Johnson recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 55.61%.

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,990 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,145 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.2% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $176.76 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $177.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.34. The stock has a market cap of $425.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.61%.

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.

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