Tranquility Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Tranquility Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 736 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 98,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 297,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,093,000. Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 14,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 281.6% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 14,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 10,653 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $149.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $360.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.