General Partner Inc. Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

General Partner Inc. trimmed its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 1.0% of General Partner Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. General Partner Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,859,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.95. 678,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,283,656. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $142.75 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $152.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $346.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors 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 yield of 3.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.