Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel Lowers Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel lessened its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,988,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in 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. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $949,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $157.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $168.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.86. The firm has a market cap of $380.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.