New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 282,867 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,628,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 282,867 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.8% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.15% of Johnson & Johnson worth $568,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Essex LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Essex LLC now owns 32,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,997,000. Shore Point Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Shore Point Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 4,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $146.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.30.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.