Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Beck Mack & Oliver LLC

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 249,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 628 shares during the period. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $36,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 55,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,068,000 after buying an additional 8,588 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,453,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311,736 shares during the period. Carbahal Olsen Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $312,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,773,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,390,000 after purchasing an additional 636,430 shares during the period. Finally, Edgar Lomax Co. VA lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA now owns 379,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,860,000 after purchasing an additional 174,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $157.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.03. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid 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 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

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.