Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stake Lessened by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 67.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,146 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $153.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.75 and its 200-day moving average is $155.76. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a market cap of $368.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.