Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,811 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,848 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the period. United Bank increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5,447.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,773,000 after acquiring an additional 119,797 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 80.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 34,026 shares of the company's stock worth $5,514,000 after acquiring an additional 15,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 66.5% in the third quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 10,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 4,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

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

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $12.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.25. 23,293,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,720,065. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $369.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.