Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 679,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $98,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $165.22 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.19. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $397.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.