Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Trimmed by Busey Bank

Busey Bank lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 259,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,084 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.6% of Busey Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $40,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,607,414,000 after purchasing an additional 54,326,454 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,458,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521,062 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $4,609,399,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,189,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,046,449,000 after buying an additional 328,297 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,351,000 after buying an additional 4,278,512 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 completion of the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.31.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.9 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $147.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $144.95 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $355.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm had revenue of $21.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

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.