Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Sells 885 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $156.20 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.87 and a 200 day moving average of $155.96. The company has a market capitalization of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.