Gray Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,009 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.8% of Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 344,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,984,000 after buying an additional 30,220 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 6,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 19,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 65,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,326,000 after purchasing an additional 11,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,301,000 after purchasing an additional 12,867 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $148.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.47. 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 one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97. The firm has a market cap of $357.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Bank of America cut their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

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.