North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 582 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

North Star Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the third quarter. Essex LLC now owns 32,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,997,000. Shore Point Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 48.2% during the third quarter. Shore Point Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% during the third quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 4,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson 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 directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

JNJ stock opened at $146.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $352.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.26 and a 200-day moving average of $155.30.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors 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 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

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.