Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,218 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,491 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $28,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $154.54. The company had a trading volume of 8,642,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,921,500. The company's fifty day moving average is $159.48 and its 200 day moving average is $154.88. The company has a market cap of $372.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 3.36%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

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.