AGF Management Ltd. Decreases Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 573,876 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,865 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $82,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $35,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.5 %

JNJ opened at $167.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.