Central Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,981 shares of the company’s stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.27.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $145.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $350.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.26 and its 200 day moving average is $156.12. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22,438,500 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.