Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 1,734,184 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,470,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,734,184 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.3% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $238,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 59.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,708,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,579,000 after buying an additional 2,489,925 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter valued at about $331,178,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.51 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $372.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.39.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 22.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.