Northstar Advisory Group LLC Lowers Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,446 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 506.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,884,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,862 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,223,000 after buying an additional 2,356,359 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after buying an additional 1,831,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.71.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $144.50 on Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.10. The company has a market capitalization of $347.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 35.45% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.