Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Sells 901 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 901 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,390,037,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,339,878,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,666,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,984,000 after buying an additional 1,660,458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % 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 Down 0.3 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.54 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $371.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.84.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JNJ. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus 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.