Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 454,728 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,716,377 shares of the company's stock after selling 454,728 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,260,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $151.37. 8,045,511 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,943,688. The company has a market capitalization of $364.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $156.56 and its 200 day moving average is $154.00. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.88.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.