Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 420,851 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 459,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 420,851 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $66,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,985,000 after purchasing an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after buying an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 162,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,309,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $394.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.02. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

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.