Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $69,859,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $154.97. 2,054,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,862,419. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $158.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.54. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $372.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change 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.