Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Position Trimmed by Essex LLC

Essex LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,051 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.8% of Essex LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Essex LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Bank of America dropped their price target on 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 reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.67.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.6 %

JNJ stock opened at $155.23 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.01. The company has a market cap of $373.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. 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.