Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,064 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,279 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.6% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $155.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $372.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.68.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

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.