Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Humankind Investments LLC

Humankind Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,573 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,813,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,456,201,000 after buying an additional 3,363,235 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $4,390,037,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,356,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,522,447,000 after acquiring an additional 431,205 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $370.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $157.89 and its 200-day moving average is $154.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 57.84%.

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.