Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Golden State Equity Partners

Golden State Equity Partners decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,030 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after buying an additional 498,647 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,112,000 after purchasing an additional 26,982 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,301,000 after purchasing an additional 12,867 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,198,000 after purchasing an additional 200,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,726,000 after buying an additional 120,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $151.16 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. 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 yield of 3.28%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.