Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Sold by Princeton Global Asset Management LLC

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 62,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,541 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.7% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $9,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in 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. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,859,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.8 %

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $154.68 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $372.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $147.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.09. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.35% and a net margin of 18.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently 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.