Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 80,679 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,254,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,679 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Johnson & Johnson worth $353,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares in the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 75,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,758,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 4,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,458,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $149.27 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.