Zacks Investment Management Has $119.68 Million Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Zacks Investment Management lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 827,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 128,867 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 1.1% of Zacks Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $119,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.50.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.66 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.39 and a 200-day moving average of $155.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.