Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,966 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% during the 3rd 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. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vertex Planning Partners LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $154.68 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $372.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.09.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.