M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Reduces Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 59.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,799 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,584 shares during the quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,980,000 after acquiring an additional 111,570 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,472,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,723,000 after acquiring an additional 329,473 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 3,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.6 %

JNJ stock opened at $166.81 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $140.68 and a 52 week high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $401.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $152.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on JNJ. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Argus raised shares of Johnson & Johnson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.