Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 331,196 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 519,753 shares of the company's stock after selling 331,196 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $75,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Benchmark raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.88.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $151.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JNJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.