Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,078 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 2.0% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $153.10 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The company has a market capitalization of $368.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.06.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.