Knuff & Co LLC Sells 1,959 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Knuff & Co LLC decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,959 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 16,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Aua Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $587,000. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 10,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, BetterWealth LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.1% during the third quarter. BetterWealth LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $148.95 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $143.13 and a 52 week high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $358.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $153.70 and its 200-day moving average is $154.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

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.