Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Dudley Capital Management LLC

Dudley Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 3.4% of Dudley Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Dudley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $162.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $150.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $391.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 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 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.