Taurus Asset Management LLC Sells 5,160 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Taurus Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,035 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,160 shares during the period. Taurus Asset Management LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth 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. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $153.33. 1,612,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,941,886. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The stock's 50-day moving average is $159.38 and its 200-day moving average is $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $369.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Remove Ads

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 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. 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.