Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,459,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 297,224 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,666,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,209,060,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085,180 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,227,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,676 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,943,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,131,723,000 after purchasing an additional 130,645 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,802,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,635,832,000 after purchasing an additional 620,039 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,917,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,889,614,000 after buying an additional 1,097,855 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $203.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $204.51. The company has a market cap of $489.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $24.02 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 50.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on JNJ. Johnson Rice set a $190.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital set a $190.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,013 shares in the company, valued at $31,652,491.53. This trade represents a 24.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company 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.