Spire Wealth Management Sells 5,652 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Spire Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,652 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $149.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.93. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $175.97. The stock has a market cap of $360.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost 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 3.31%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, 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 value of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.