Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,063 shares of the company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.7% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $11,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,449,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,858,000 after buying an additional 50,348 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 27,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,238,000 after buying an additional 8,292 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 55,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,655,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock 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 quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $348.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $154.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.14.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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