Sowell Financial Services LLC Has $8.40 Million Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sowell Financial Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 644 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 58,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,419,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Argentarii LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $410,000. Horan Securities Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $1,260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $166.81 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $401.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.95 and its 200 day moving average is $156.28. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. 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 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.