Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Stock Holdings Reduced by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors cut its Johnson & Johnson stake by 22.6% in Q3, selling 69,665 shares and leaving it with 238,735 shares worth about $44.27 million.
• Other large institutional moves included Vanguard raising its position to 237,047,859 shares and Norges Bank initiating a new position worth $4.877 billion, with institutional investors owning roughly 69.55% of JNJ.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $234.87—while J&J pays a quarterly dividend of $1.30 (≈2.1% yield) and insiders have sold about 30,142 shares in the past 90 days.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 22.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 238,735 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,665 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $44,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,209,060,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company's stock worth $9,227,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth $4,877,174,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,568,313,000 after purchasing an additional 835,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,450,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,606,431,000 after purchasing an additional 532,790 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $201.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.87.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $242.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $584.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $229.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.82. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $141.50 and a one year high of $251.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $24.28 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value of $1,508,287.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total value of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,540,469.77. The trade was a 45.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company's pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.

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