Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,078 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 2.0% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $153.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The firm has a market cap of $368.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. 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.