Physicians Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.3% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 26.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,182,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,844,580,000 after buying an additional 4,842,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,126,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,766,014,000 after buying an additional 1,171,975 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $166.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $399.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.41. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.14.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.85 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 25.00%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.