Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 3.5% of Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,847,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,164,000 after buying an additional 282,807 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 105.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,366,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,266,000 after buying an additional 1,213,804 shares during the last quarter. American Money Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 37,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $19,020,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 11,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $394.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.68 and its 200-day moving average is $156.13. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.