Certuity LLC Trims Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Certuity LLC lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,777 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,047 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 20,130.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,454,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,397 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 228.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,389,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,359 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,840,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,281 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,040,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,316,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,440,000 after buying an additional 1,265,748 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.7 %

JNJ opened at $156.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.01. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $168.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.59%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

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.