Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 507 shares during the quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,339,878,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,666,460,000 after buying an additional 1,772,706 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,721,355,000 after buying an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,930,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,458 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $163.43 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $393.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

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.