Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Sells 268 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 14.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 425,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,985,000 after acquiring an additional 52,997 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 988,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,181,000 after acquiring an additional 41,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,980,000 after acquiring an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $156.20 on Monday. 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 has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a market capitalization of $376.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.87 and its 200 day moving average is $155.96.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

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.