JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Has $70.66 Million Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 488,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,399 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $70,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,534 shares of the company's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 522,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,495,000 after acquiring an additional 31,640 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $7,647,000. Finally, Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 23,239 shares of the company's stock worth $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $153.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $370.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $157.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.29.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

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.

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