Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,807,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 98,713 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.5% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $283,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 16,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 34,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,342,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,164,000. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvey Investment Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 218,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,032,000 after buying an additional 18,630 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $151.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $364.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.11.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

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.