Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Has $18.21 Million Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 2.6% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James dropped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

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

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $163.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.30. The firm has a market cap of $392.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $140.68 and a 1 year high of $169.99. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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

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.