New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,071,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 83,909 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.8% of New York State Teachers Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Johnson & Johnson worth $343,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company's stock worth $4,456,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363,235 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after purchasing an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE JNJ traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $155.90. 3,482,521 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,047,072. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $153.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.88. The stock has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.41.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 24.42%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.