Barr E S & Co. Sells 8,686 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Barr E S & Co. trimmed its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150,509 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,686 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.3% of Barr E S & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Barr E S & Co.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $21,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,321,881,000 after buying an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,126,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,766,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.66. The company had a trading volume of 10,723,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,973,461. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The stock has a market cap of $370.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 74.59%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.