Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 537,937 shares of the company's stock after selling 932,184 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $77,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE JNJ traded up $3.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,972,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,953,112. The stock has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.