Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 640,523 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,965,565 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640,523 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up approximately 0.8% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,718,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 4J Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookmont Capital Management grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 14,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4 %

JNJ stock opened at $152.88 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The company has a market cap of $367.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.