Sigma Planning Corp Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,619 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,574 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $8,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ stock opened at $166.13 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $149.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.92.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Raymond James cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

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.