Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 6,773 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,773 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $11,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 10,620,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,620,000 after purchasing an additional 498,647 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,061,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,112,000 after purchasing an additional 26,982 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,436,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,301,000 after acquiring an additional 12,867 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,396,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,198,000 after acquiring an additional 200,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,306,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,726,000 after acquiring an additional 120,891 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 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 dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $144.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $154.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.14. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $348.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders 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 is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.