State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 480,305 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 888,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480,305 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $129,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,680 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 14,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,602,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.21.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $164.64 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $143.13 and a 12-month high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 36.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

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.