HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Reduces Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 966 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. 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 during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $162.93 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.34. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.