Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Troy Asset Management Ltd

Troy Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,285 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.7% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $20,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.63 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.21. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $394.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

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.