Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. decreased its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,536 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 4.2% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $6,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 185,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,996,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,639,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,858,543,000 after acquiring an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth about $69,859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $152.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.09. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $366.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 74.59%.

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.