Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Lessened by Excalibur Management Corp

Excalibur Management Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 2.2% of Excalibur Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $721,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 44.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 87,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 26,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,891,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,662,000 after purchasing an additional 205,789 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $161.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $388.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.14. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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.