Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC

Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,321,881,000 after buying an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.77. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Benchmark upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.