Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,562 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Almanack Investment Partners LLC.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,699,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JNJ. Argus raised Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $147.22 per share, with a total value of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of JNJ opened at $154.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.42 and a 200 day moving average of $156.08.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

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.