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

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 366,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,769 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $57,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,175 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 89.9% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,251,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,880 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 104.1% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,014,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,441 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2,264.8% in the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 822,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,139,000 after acquiring an additional 787,934 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,957,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,370,000 after acquiring an additional 719,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $144.61 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.14. The company has a market capitalization of $348.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.