MBL Wealth LLC Sells 2,025 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

MBL Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 26.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,546 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,025 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $890,000. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% in the first quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 6,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.1% during the first quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 7,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $146.14. The stock had a trading volume of 6,182,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,728,638. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $155.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.68%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Raymond James raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.