Hofer & Associates. Inc Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Hofer & Associates. Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in 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 purchasing 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 valued at about $69,859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $151.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.12. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $365.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on JNJ. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.