Ascent Group LLC Has $10.57 Million Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 20.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,209 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $10,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $167.00 to $206.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $188.51 on Monday. 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 $453.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.18 and a 200-day moving average of $162.83. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $189.78.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.09. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $23.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.61%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. The trade was a 24.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.