Verity Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Verity Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,518 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $153.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $369.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85.

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

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

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.