Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 160,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,174 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $25,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $1,458,000. RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.6% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,102 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Raymond James upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.31.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 available at this link. 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 transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $144.45 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.82. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.39 and a 52-week high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 34.47%.

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.