Private Advisor Group LLC Lowers Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,773 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $41,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 498,647 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,112,000 after acquiring an additional 26,982 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,301,000 after acquiring an additional 12,867 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,726,000 after buying an additional 120,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $149.85 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.93.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

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.