Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,667 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company's stock worth $562,723,000 after purchasing an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 394.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,180,000 after buying an additional 4,640 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of JNJ traded down $2.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $155.11. 3,728,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,911,692. 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 firm has a market cap of $373.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $159.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.95. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. 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 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 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. This represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.