Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Brick & Kyle Associates

Brick & Kyle Associates lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,759 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.3% of Brick & Kyle Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Brick & Kyle Associates’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $153.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $368.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.