Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,439,967 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,113 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $211,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $153.03 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.76. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % 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, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.