Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 880,098 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,174 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.5% of Comerica Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Comerica Bank's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $127,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $154.42. 7,317,524 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,889,701. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $371.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.73.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

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.