Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by JT Stratford LLC

JT Stratford LLC cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,276 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,821 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.1% of JT Stratford LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. JT Stratford LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 28,000 shares of the company's stock worth $4,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,004 shares of the company's stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 5,890 shares of the company's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,458 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $155.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.79. The company has a market capitalization of $368.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, 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, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

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