Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 2,511,140 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,339,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,511,140 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 0.5% of Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,652,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.69 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $394.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $150.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.02.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.