Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA Trims Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.6% of Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JNJ. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $373.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.00 and a 200 day moving average of $155.91. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $168.85.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

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.