Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Position Decreased by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 459 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the third quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $152.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $366.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

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.