Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 15,956 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 192,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,956 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 1.8% of Empire Life Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $27,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,959,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,437,000 after acquiring an additional 225,489 shares during the period. BXM Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth about $799,000. Spinnaker Trust lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 39,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,709,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 138,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,060,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PUREfi Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,027,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger acquired 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

JNJ opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.91.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 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 34.35%. The firm 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 posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

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.