Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,471 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.8% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $163.69 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. 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 company has a market cap of $394.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.02.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. 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.