Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 165,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,279 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $23,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $163.81 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.88. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. 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 stock has a market cap of $394.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.