Auxano Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Auxano Advisors LLC lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.6% of Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WealthTrust Axiom LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 20,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after buying an additional 5,198 shares in the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 26,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,219,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 58,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $149.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (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 36.70%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.68%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.