Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 827,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 128,867 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.1% of Zacks Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $119,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 41,954 shares of the company's stock worth $6,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 295,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,720,000 after buying an additional 14,659 shares during the period. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,158,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $10,774,000. Finally, Finward Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $1,554,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 directly 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,972,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,953,112. The company has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $159.49 and a 200 day moving average of $155.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

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.