Commerce Bank Sells 13,951 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Commerce Bank decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,116,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,951 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 1.2% of Commerce Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $174,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospector Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 60,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,486,000 after acquiring an additional 25,225 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $110,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $338,000. Finally, Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC now owns 58,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,201,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $148.17. 2,794,848 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,315,046. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.07. The firm has a market cap of $356.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.64 EPS 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 paid a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Johnson & Johnson 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.