USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 5,008 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,378,386 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,008 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.4% of USS Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $199,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 acquired 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 position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.17. 7,029,695 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,972,757. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.79. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $368.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.