Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,509,433 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,603,436 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.7% of Legal & General Group Plc's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.77% of Johnson & Johnson worth $2,676,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE JNJ traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $149.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,139,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,918,547. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.50 and a 200 day moving average of $155.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.67.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.