Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,042 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after acquiring an additional 6,332 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 73,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after acquiring an additional 6,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $227.51 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $547.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.90. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $146.12 and a 52-week high of $251.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total value of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at $6,540,469.77. This represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.48.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.