Bellecapital International Ltd. Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bellecapital International Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at $225,040,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7,516.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,245,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.1 %

JNJ opened at $165.48 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.12.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson 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.