Sandy Spring Bank Sells 1,181 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 114,358 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.9% of Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $17,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. My Personal CFO LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. FIDELIS iM LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.