New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 69,508 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,340,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,508 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.7% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $342,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Daiwa America cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $164.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $394.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $167.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.