Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,319 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,678 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,502,000 after buying an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 41,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,648,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,951 shares of the company's stock worth $2,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 93,481 shares of the company's stock worth $13,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5%

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.87. 7,866,488 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,066,975. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The firm has a market cap of $377.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.00.

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.