Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,767 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 5.7% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7,875.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,175 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 89.9% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,251,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,880 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,014,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,441 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2,264.8% during the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 822,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,139,000 after acquiring an additional 787,934 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,957,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,370,000 after acquiring an additional 719,472 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $144.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.14.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 29.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.