NS Partners Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

NS Partners Ltd lessened its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 138,227 shares of the company’s stock after selling 954 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 1.5% of NS Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $24,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.94% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $401.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $150.11 and a fifty-two week high of $183.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $24.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.61 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.13% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.58%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, insider James D. Swanson sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.66, for a total transaction of $164,248.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,191.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Atlantic Securities cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. UBS Group began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $164.00 target price for the company. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.00.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the health care field. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and MedTech. The Consumer Health segment includes products focused on personal healthcare used in the Skin Health/Beauty, Over-the-Counter medicines, Baby Care, Oral Care, Women’s Health and Wound Care markets.