Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Capital Inc.

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,567 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,910 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $14,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $157.42 on Friday. 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 $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents 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.