Sheets Smith Wealth Management Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management decreased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on JNJ shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.1 %

JNJ stock opened at $146.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $353.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.99 and its 200 day moving average is $155.98.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.