National Pension Service Lowers Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

National Pension Service cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,774,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,357 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 0.6% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. National Pension Service’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $729,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clark Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 23,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 234,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 73,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,164,000 after purchasing an additional 4,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the first quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 16,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.81, for a total transaction of $10,041,108.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 178,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,652,491.53. This represents a 24.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $193.76 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $184.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.31. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $194.48. The firm has a market cap of $466.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%.The company had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Loop Capital set a $190.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Argus set a $210.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $206.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.05.

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.