Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,806,642 shares of the company's stock after selling 152,989 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.6% of Prudential Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of Johnson & Johnson worth $405,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Nine 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE JNJ traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $161.14. 7,455,254 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,088,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The business's 50 day moving average is $157.37 and its 200-day moving average is $156.16. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

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.