Sandy Spring Bank Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sandy Spring Bank decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 104,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 343 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $15,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $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 valued at $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. 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 valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. 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 valued at $1,698,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,458 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at $225,040,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.01 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.30. 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 company has a market capitalization of $392.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities 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 data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’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 value 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 $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.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.