New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,155,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,747 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.7% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Johnson & Johnson worth $311,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $795,000. Vicus Capital boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 5,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 178,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,811,000 after acquiring an additional 17,282 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 47,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Finally, CFC Planning Co LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,920,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

JNJ stock opened at $156.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.95. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.