Continuum Advisory LLC Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Continuum Advisory LLC reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 554 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Ames National Corp purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,903,000. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,703,000 after acquiring an additional 25,663 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $484,000. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 34,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinloch Capital LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 15,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $153.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.79. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.