Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $17,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. St. Clair Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $3,105,000. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,605,000. Twinbeech Capital LP increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 108,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,743,000 after acquiring an additional 76,428 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 189,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,383,000 after acquiring an additional 61,493 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $9,222,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $151.37 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $156.27 and its 200-day moving average is $153.85. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

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.