ARS Investment Partners LLC Decreases Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

ARS Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,139 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the second quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.06.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $146.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22,438,500 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.