National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,327,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 509,560 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $212,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TCG Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,178,000 after purchasing an additional 15,766 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 19,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $188,000. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 98,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,387,000 after buying an additional 35,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $148.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $358.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.97. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. HSBC upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.