Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 11,573 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 321,765 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,573 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $46,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $1,339,878,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,698,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.54 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $159.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.84. The stock has a market cap of $371.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.82.

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.

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