MV Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

MV Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $163.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $394.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $158.68 and its 200-day moving average is $156.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.