Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 84.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314,650 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,667,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,321,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,036 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $4,390,037,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,447,000 after buying an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,126,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,766,014,000 after buying an additional 1,171,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $151.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $365.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.67.

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.