Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 17,527 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,991,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,527 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $866,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after buying an additional 3,437,397 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356,359 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $153.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $368.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, 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 has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.08.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.