Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Bought by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 38,281 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,128 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.4% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE JNJ opened at $165.23 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $397.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.06.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson 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.