Investment Partners LTD. Cuts Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Investment Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 582 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 74,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 5,930 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 8,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,467,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 107,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,863,000 after buying an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 10,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,609,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $151.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.55. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $143.13 and a 52-week high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

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.