Lane & Associates LLC Reduces Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Lane & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 724 shares during the period. Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $163.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $394.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.88. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James decreased 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 target for the company. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

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.