Zacks Investment Management Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Zacks Investment Management reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 827,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 128,867 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.1% of Zacks Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $119,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company's stock worth $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company's stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,390,037,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company's stock worth $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,126,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,766,014,000 after buying an additional 1,171,975 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.3 %

Johnson & Johnson stock traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.42. 10,972,370 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,945,892. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week 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 moving average price is $159.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.65 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS 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. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

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.