Dean Investment Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Dean Investment Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,444 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,108 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.1% of Dean Investment Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Dean Investment Associates LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,106,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $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 company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded up $3.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,972,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,953,112. The firm has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.03.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend 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.