Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,147 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,461 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 1.3% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $12,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,662,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.82.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $157.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.03. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. 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.

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