Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 788 shares during the quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 183.3% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 43.0% in the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 37.8% during the third quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.5 %

JNJ opened at $146.13 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $155.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.32. The firm has a market cap of $352.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $168.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.86.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

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

About Johnson & Johnson

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.