Cornerstone Capital Inc. Decreases Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. reduced its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 145,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,378 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 2.5% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $22,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 16,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 34,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,342,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,164,000. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Harvey Investment Co. LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 218,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,032,000 after acquiring an additional 18,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $151.16 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.13 and a 1 year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $364.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 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 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.