Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Position Reduced by LifeSteps Financial Inc.

LifeSteps Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 7,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $430,000. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 21,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 92,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,473,000 after purchasing an additional 38,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Williams & Novak LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $252,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of JNJ traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $159.10. 7,237,481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,355,802. The company has a market cap of $382.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.10. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, August 5th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

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.