Wealth Effects LLC Sells 363 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wealth Effects LLC decreased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 363 shares during the period. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $69,859,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $152.09 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.07. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $140.68 and a twelve month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.44.

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.