Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 439,103 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,426 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $63,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Capital Advantage Inc. bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $710,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 655,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,869,000 after buying an additional 11,459 shares during the last quarter. Cercano Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Cercano Management LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 151,204 shares of the company's stock worth $21,867,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 35,687 shares of the company's stock worth $5,161,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Benchmark raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded down $1.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $155.64. 7,597,225 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,891,563. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.35 and a 200 day moving average of $154.49. 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 has a market cap of $374.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.