Ballentine Partners LLC Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Ballentine Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 20.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,892 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $3,220,322,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 160,223,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,955,806,000 after buying an additional 6,656,371 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $277,294,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 38.9% in the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 2,130,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,296,000 after buying an additional 596,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,254,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,534,000 after buying an additional 585,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.10% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE JNJ) traded down 0.31% during trading on Friday, hitting $132.63. 4,792,761 shares of the company were exchanged. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $109.32 and a 12 month high of $137.08. The company has a market capitalization of $355.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.88 and its 200-day moving average is $127.04.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.04. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 26.76%. The firm had revenue of $18.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post $7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 56.76%.

A number of analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. J P Morgan Chase & Co upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $123.64 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 15th. UBS AG reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $148.00 price target (up from $136.00) on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Vetr downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $128.82 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 15th. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.12.

In related news, VP Dominic J. Caruso sold 82,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.72, for a total transaction of $11,291,841.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 226,693 shares in the company, valued at $30,993,466.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paulus Stoffels sold 102,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.14, for a total transaction of $13,672,412.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 230,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,667,733.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices. Its primary focus is products related to human health and well-being.

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