Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Stock Position Reduced by Hamlin Capital Management LLC

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 836,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,772 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 4.1% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $173,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth $4,877,174,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,832,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,789,914,000 after purchasing an additional 956,239 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,568,313,000 after purchasing an additional 835,146 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,450,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,606,431,000 after purchasing an additional 532,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,512,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,838 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total transaction of $324,762.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,251,310.02. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $235.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $567.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $235.73 and a 200-day moving average of $209.21. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $141.50 and a 52-week high of $251.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%.The business had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $201.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $217.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Loop Capital set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.91.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.