Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Centre Asset Management LLC

Centre Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 76.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,587 shares during the quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $152.53 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $367.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.64.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.88.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.