Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,326 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.3% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 98,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,387,000 after purchasing an additional 35,340 shares during the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,915,000. W Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 8,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,425,000 after buying an additional 25,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value 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 $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $148.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $358.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. 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 fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $153.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.