Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 339,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,318 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $49,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $1,626,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the first quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,464,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,044,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $164.64 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $396.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $159.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.21.

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.