DnB Asset Management AS Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,325,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,923 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.8% of DnB Asset Management AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $191,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,187,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,216,000 after acquiring an additional 547,714 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $393.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.23. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. 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.