Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $2.58 Billion Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,833,744 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755,712 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.74% of Johnson & Johnson worth $2,579,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.99. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

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