Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,444,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,030 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.27% of Johnson & Johnson worth $1,010,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,607,414,000 after purchasing an additional 54,326,454 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,458,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521,062 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,278,512 shares during the period. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 17,087.7% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,913,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,348,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896,529 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $147.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $143.13 and a twelve month high of $175.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. 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. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.