Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 755,712 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,833,744 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755,712 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $2,579,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $928,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 37,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $625,000. OV Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. OV Management LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $153.25 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $369.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.99.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

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.