MA Private Wealth Decreases Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

MA Private Wealth lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 839 shares during the period. MA Private Wealth’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after acquiring an additional 7,110 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth about $69,859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of 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, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 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.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $153.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $168.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.10. The company has a market cap of $369.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.