Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,921 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.2% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $12,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 19,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $1,458,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on JNJ. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $145.65 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.56. The company has a market cap of $350.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.