Portland Global Advisors LLC Sells 134 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Portland Global Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd 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. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during 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 during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $163.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $158.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.