Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $11.64 Million Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,178 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,737 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $11,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $453,000. Horan Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 205,580.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 10,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners cut Johnson & Johnson from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $169.00 to $153.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE JNJ traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $152.33. 7,149,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,004,092. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $153.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 24.42% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

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.