Northeast Investment Management Sells 8,616 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Northeast Investment Management reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,616 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.2% of Northeast Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $26,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,064,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,763 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,748 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.3 %

JNJ opened at $156.18 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.04. The stock has a market cap of $376.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on JNJ. Citigroup cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

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.