Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Sells 2,314 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. decreased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after purchasing an additional 111,570 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after buying an additional 329,473 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.6% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,199,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the third quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 185,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,036,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $162.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.60 and its 200-day moving average is $156.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $140.68 and a 12 month high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

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.