Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,437,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 836,153 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.56% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,944,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $453,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $156.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $158.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.61. The stock has a market cap of $375.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.