Optas LLC Sells 296 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Optas LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, June 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.07.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $352.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.62 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

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.