Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Beaton Management Co. Inc.

Beaton Management Co. Inc. trimmed its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises about 1.6% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Barclays raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $159.62 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.