Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 346,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,827 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $50,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $949,000. Horan Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth about $69,859,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm’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 value 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. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.49 and a 200-day moving average of $154.92. The stock has a market cap of $373.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 EPS 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 business had revenue of $21.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.65 billion. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $171.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.82.

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.