LGT Group Foundation Cuts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

LGT Group Foundation cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 488,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,947 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.7% of LGT Group Foundation’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $76,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 16,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 50.9% during the third quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 5,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 20.4% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 68,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,449,000 after purchasing an additional 11,643 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 210.0% in the third quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 9,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 33,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $148.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.95 and a 200-day moving average of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $357.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.