Morris Financial Concepts Inc. Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Morris Financial Concepts Inc. lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% during the third quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JNJ. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.86.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:JNJ opened at $145.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $143.13 and a one year high of $175.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.68. The stock has a market cap of $351.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 29.68%.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.