LifeSteps Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

LifeSteps Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,739 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Dividend Assets Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,962,000 after buying an additional 2,840 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 48,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,084,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Dahring Cusmano LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $654,000. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reduced 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. Nine research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ stock opened at $163.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.88. The company has a market capitalization of $394.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.