Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 429,273 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,618,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429,273 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Johnson & Johnson worth $43,873,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,877,174,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 15,040.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,420,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,512,000 after buying an additional 7,371,687 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,227,988,000 after buying an additional 1,225,676 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,917,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,889,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $157,608,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Loop Capital set a $220.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $262.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer publicly praised J&J on-air, calling the company “amazing,” which can boost retail investor interest and provide short-term support for the stock. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Is Amazing, Says Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street Zen cut JNJ to a Hold, signaling reduced upside conviction from at least one boutique research provider; that can temper buying enthusiasm but is not a major institutional downgrade. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen
• Negative Sentiment: A Pennsylvania jury found J&J liable in a talc/ovarian-cancer case and ordered $250,000 in damages to the family of Gayle Emerson — a reminder that ongoing talc litigation continues to create legal costs, uncertainty and headline risk for the company. Jury: Johnson & Johnson Liable in Case Linking Baby Powder to Cancer

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $243.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $586.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $141.50 and a 12-month high of $246.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The firm had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.