Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 60,932 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,932 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $97,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $1,339,878,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several research reports. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Benchmark upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,973,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,879,761. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $375.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.67.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 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.