Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,687 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,245,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,755,874,000 after buying an additional 1,154,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,064,149,000 after buying an additional 1,004,763 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.68 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

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.