Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 692,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,518 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 1.3% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $100,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,110 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $949,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $166.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $152.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.30. The company has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. 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 company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.33.

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.