Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 8,810 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 382,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,810 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $55,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $225,040,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $163.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.33 and a 200-day moving average of $155.88. 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 has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $394.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson 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.